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Thread: 9 foot Butcher Block......uses?!?!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
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    Oak Grove, Missouri
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    140

    9 foot Butcher Block......uses?!?!

    I bought a 9ft x 4ft x 3'' thick Butchers Table from a guy that ordered for an old meat packing plant. I believe it's maple, but i'm not sure.

    Anyway...it has leaned against the side wall of the garage for the last 8 years or so and is still in great condition. it was bought by the packing plant as a reserve....but after being open for about 15 years....they never got past the first table. so this is unused.

    i'll have to take some pictures and add them to this post, but i'm trying to come up with some ideas for it.

    i'd say it's close to 400lbs......was going to be used as a wall to wall desk in my office (using some husky 'x-horse' sawhorses...rated at 700lbs each...one on each end)

    i'll need to do a bit of sanding and replace an end cap...other than that it's several skinny 9 foot long pieces of maple laminated together....and then there are probably 6 all thread bolts going across the width of it...throught the center to hold the laminated piece together. i think i'll replace those if i do something nicer with it. (dining roome table 'esque)

    anyway....thanks for reading. give me any input you want. i paid $100 for it 8-10 years ago..''as long as i hauled the big old thing with no help from me'' (the seller) value, use, possible wood used, tackling a restoration of this magnitude...etc.)

    thanks guys.

    matt
    Last edited by Rob Russell; 01-27-2009 at 4:40 PM.

  2. #2
    That thing ain't woth nothing but firewood......then ya gotta clean up the ashes, whew, what a mess. I'll save ya the trouble and buy it from ya for &100 so ya don't feel like ya lost anything.

    Seriously....Make a new bench top out of it. That's what I'd do anyhow.
    I take big parts, cut them into little parts, and glue back into big parts.

    The circle of life.

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    Mt. Pleasant, MI
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    over 100 BF of maple for $100 isn't a bad deal by any stretch. Since it already has bolt through it the uses are limited to leaving it as is and making something from it.

    A really long, nice hand tool bench would be an obvious first choice.

    I would assume it is maple since that seems to be the wood of choice for those types of tops.

    Someone who is good with a hand plane could flatten that top in no time. It would take me a week or more and would likely end up about 1 1/2" by the time I was done.

    Joe
    JC Custom WoodWorks

    For best results, try not to do anything stupid.

    "So this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause." - Padmé Amidala "Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith"

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
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    Oak Grove, Missouri
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    thanks for the offer, but i'll hang onto it for a while.......

    i was thinking about a bench top....of course for a shop i don't have.

    i was thinking about a dining room table....for a house i don't have...that may or may not have a dining room big enough for it.

    i thought about a desk...as mentioned.

    i thought about refinishing it very nice to a table....and putting it along a wall in the basement...until of course i ''maybe'' had that big dining room to put it into.

    tons of ideas....and not enough gumption or know-how to act on any of it. (or feel comfortable acting on it anyway)

    anyway...keep the info or comments coming.

    thanks
    matt

  5. #5
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    It's the first part of your new kitchen - or your new house.

  6. #6
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    Hot Springs, VA
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    build a new house around it

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Northfield, Mn
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    That's a sweet find! I've got a 30"x96"x2-1/2" butcher block for my desk top. Personally if I had an island in my kitchen that's what I'd use it for. But then again, you'd never want to prepare meat on it.

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Stephenville, TX
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    Clean a 9 foot bass on it. I've caught several of those.
    And now for something completely different....

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Sollars View Post
    I bought a 9ft x 4ft x 3'' thick Butchers Table from a guy that ordered for an old meat packing plant. I believe it's maple, but i'm not sure.

    Holy heck! I would LOVE to have that as a top on a massive kitchen island!!
    Last edited by Chris Padilla; 01-27-2009 at 7:53 PM.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Richard M. Wolfe View Post
    Clean a 9 foot bass on it. I've caught several of those.
    My biggest bass, the photograph weighed 8.5 pounds. (First lier doesn't have a chance.)

    On another note, and some might think ths sacriledge - you could make a nice six foot bench and a 3 foot square or some similarly dimensioned table. Probably be a bit more manageable and useful. That 9 ft slab needs a special place. Of course, as soon as you cut it up - that special place will undoubedly present itself. Good luck whatever you decide.
    Last edited by Vince Shriver; 01-27-2009 at 12:25 AM.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Laurie Brown View Post
    Holy heck! I would LOVE to have that as a top on a massive kitchen island!!

    Thats the first thing that came to my mind, too.
    Last edited by Chris Padilla; 01-27-2009 at 7:53 PM.

  12. #12
    I'd love to have something like that in my kitchen but realistically, WORKBENCH!

  13. #13
    Join Date
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    3,349
    Oh definitely a workbench. Heck, I'll buy it from you and give you 50% profit over what you paid - inflation adjusted even. How's that for an offer?

    Btw, that makes my cost $193.10. I even rounded up for ya.
    Where did I put that tape measure...

  14. #14
    That says workbench all over it.

    All the other ideas mentioned would work fine with much thinner wood. If you don't want a workbench, I'd suggest selling it and spending the money on what you want.
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  15. #15
    Join Date
    May 2008
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    Newport News, VA
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    So far, it seems to have a natural use -- making all of us jealous.

    Workbench, of course. Along the kitchen island idea, I would look at replacing part of your kitchen countertop. You could make a whole mess of cutting boards, too.

    Cheers,

    Chris
    If you only took one trip to the hardware store, you didn't do it right.

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