How to Make DIY Butcher Block Countertops

Butcher Block Countertop

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Project Overview
  • Working Time: 2 - 4 hrs
  • Total Time: 2 days
  • Yield: 29-1/2-inch by 26-1/4 inch maple butcher block countertop
  • Skill Level: Advanced
  • Estimated Cost: $250 to $300

A DIY butcher block countertop is made from separate wood planks and is often used for kitchen counters and islands. With its warm wood grain evoking a country or farmhouse feel, a butcher block countertop is versatile, rich, and durable. Plus, it's one of few countertops that can be resurfaced.

You can make a simple DIY butcher block counter with pre-milled hardwood with just a few essential power tools. If you have more advanced tools like an electric tabletop planer and a table saw, you can fabricate a professional-grade butcher block countertop worthy of any home.

Making your own butcher block countertops can save considerable amounts in your kitchen budget. These DIY butcher block countertops cost about $250 to $300 in materials, while store-bought block counters with professional installation can cost between $2,500 and $7,500 on average, according to HomeAdvisor.

Before You Begin

This butcher block countertop is 26-1/4 inches deep by 29-1/2 inches long. It uses soft maple furniture squares, each square measuring 1-3/4-inch by 1-3/4-inch by 30 inches long.

While hard maple is more commonly used to make butcher block countertops, soft maple is a close approximation that's easier to work with. Soft maple is dense and close-grained like hard maple, yet it cuts and planes easily, sands to a smooth surface, and finishes beautifully.

Furniture squares are long, narrow, milled hardwood boards typically used for making table legs or other furniture parts. Furniture squares are precisely milled, so they are straight and true. This eliminates the need to rip boards through a table saw or plane them with an electric planer.

Safety Considerations

Be careful when ripping lumber in a table saw to avoid kickback, a condition where the wood is rammed back toward the user with great force, possibly resulting in injury. Use anti-kickback pawls (fingers) to reduce the chance of kickback. Use push blocks to keep your hands away from the blade.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Belt sander
  • Oscillating sander
  • Circular saw
  • Carpenter's square or drywall square
  • 4 bar clamps
  • Latex gloves
  • Microfiber cloths
  • Wax paper
  • Pencil

Additional Tools for Advanced Butcher Block Countertop

  • Table saw
  • Benchtop electric planer, 13-inch

Materials

  • 15 soft maple furniture squares, 1-3/4-inch by 1-3/4-inch by 30 inches
  • Wood glue
  • 2 two-by-twos, any type, each 30 inches or more
  • Tung oil finish

Alternate Wood for Advanced Butcher Block Countertop

  • Alder, hard maple, teak, birch, ash, or walnut, 6/4 (or 1-5/16-inch) from 4 to 10 in. wide and 8 or 10 ft. long.

Instructions

How to Make a Butcher Block Countertop

  1. Lay Out and Cull Boards

    • On a flat, level surface, lay out the 15 maple boards. Find the least desirable sides with knots or imperfections and face those sides downward. Push the boards together. Ideally, the boards should be perfectly straight on each side, leaving no gaps between the boards; gluing and clamping the boards can correct up to 1/16-inch gaps (side to side) but not wider than that.
    • Cull out boards that are too imperfect to use and replace them with better boards.
  2. Mark Wood

    • Flip the entire set of boards over so that their bottoms are facing upward.
    • Press them together tightly.
    • From left to right, use the tape measure to make a mark at 2-1/2 inches, 7-1/2 inches, and 22-1/2 inches. Use the carpenter's or drywall square to draw lines across the boards at each mark point.

    Tip

    The marks indicate the bottom of the counter. After the boards are cut into smaller pieces (later), each piece will have a mark.

  3. Cut Boards or Leave Solid

    Depending on the butcher block counter style, you can cut the boards into smaller ones for a randomized look or leave the boards solid for a more orderly appearance.

    Cut boards: With the electric miter saw or table saw, cut the boards so the butcher block counter has a randomized look with boards of different lengths.

    • Five pieces, 5 inches each 
    • Five pieces, 7-1/2 inches each 
    • Five pieces, 10 inches each
    • Five pieces, 15 inches each
    • Five pieces, 22-1/2 inches each
    • Five pieces, 30 inches each (uncut pieces)

    Leave boards solid: Another option is to leave all boards uncut. This option is easier since it eliminates many steps, plus the countertop will be stronger since it has fewer seams.

  4. Dry-Fit Boards

    Spread wax paper 36 inches by 36 inches or large enough to cover the butcher block with some extra room. Lay out the 15 rows of boards on the work surface again, with the bottom marks facing down. Arrange the boards, so they have a random appearance, with a few conditions:

    • All boards in a single row should total 30 inches.
    • All joints should be staggered. For example, avoid having two 15-inch boards in adjacent rows. Instead, switch out one of those 15-inch boards for two 7-1/2-inch boards.
    • Place two of the 30-inch boards on each side for better support.
  5. Rotate Boards to Side

    Turn every board to the side (90 degrees). All boards should be turned in the same direction. Keep the boards together.

  6. Add Glue to Boards

    • Pour glue into the roller bottle. If using a chip brush, pour the glue into a disposable container, like a paper cup.
    • Spread the glue across the sides of the boards. Do not overapply the glue; keep the glue thin.
    • Where two boards meet end-to-end, pick up one of the boards and add glue to its end. Work carefully but quickly to avoid the glue drying on you.
  7. Rotate Boards Back to Original Position

    Turn the board back to its original position, with its bottoms facing the work surface.

  8. Square Boards

    Square up the ends of the boards. The rows now have different lengths, which will later be corrected by cutting off the ends. For now, though, make sure the ends are roughly squared up.

  9. Clamp Wood

    • Add the two-by-twos to each side to protect the boards from indentations by the bar clamps.
    • Add the four bar clamps, and tighten the clamps as hard as you can by hand.
  10. Remove Excess Glue

    • Use the microfiber cloths to wipe glue off the top of the butcher block counter.
    • Gently tilt the clamped set of boards to the side.
    • Wipe glue off of the bottom of the boards.
  11. Let Boards Cure

    For the glue to cure optimally, the room should be 70 degrees F or higher and have 50% relative humidity. While wood glue can cure in just a few hours, manufacturers recommend that clamped joints cure for 24 hours.

  12. Remove Clamps

    Remove the clamps and protective two-by-twos when the glue has finished curing.

  13. Mark Cut Ends of Countertop

    • With the square and pencil, mark each end of the countertop square.
    • If the ends are ragged, cut back 1/4-inch on each end to smooth them out.
  14. Cut Ends of Countertop

    Cut off the countertop's marked ends with a circular, table, or radial saw. Be careful with the cuts. For perfectly straight cuts with the circular saw, use a saw guide.

  15. Finish Top of Countertop

    • Using a belt sander, sand against the grain to flatten the countertop's surface.
    • Switch to sanding with the grain to erase the sanding marking.
    • End with the oscillating sander and fine-grain sandpaper to smooth out the surface.
  16. Finish Countertop

    After cleaning thoroughly with a tack cloth, apply layers of tung oil. For high-use butcher block counters in kitchens, build several layers of tung oil for a hard, protective shell. It's essential to use a food-safe sealer for a butcher block countertop.

How to Make an Advanced Butcher Block Countertop

Use advanced tools and higher quality wood for a flatter, harder, straighter butcher block countertop better suited for rigorous use in kitchens.

Alternate Wood

  • Species: Use dense hardwood like alder, hard maple, teak, birch, ash, or walnut for a harder, more durable finish, less prone to scratching and denting.
  • Size: Use 6/4 (or 1-5/16-inch) lumber in widths ranging from 4 to 10 inches and lengths up to 8 or 10 feet.

Additional Tools

  • Table saw: The advantage of a table saw is that you can rip the lumber into strips. The width of the cut represents the thickness of the butcher block countertop since the boards are turned 90 degrees. For example, a 6-inch-wide piece of 6/4 alder can be cut into four strips of equal width, each strip just under 1-1/2 inches. This makes the butcher block countertop about 1-1/2 inches thick.
  • Planer: You'll need a tabletop electric planer for a perfectly flat surface. A 13-inch tabletop electric planer is a standard consumer-grade planer size. While it will not run a full-size 26-inch countertop, it will accept boards up to 13 inches wide. You can plane each board individually and then laminate them. Or you can laminate two 13-inch-wide sections, plane each separately, and then bond the two sections.
FAQ
  • Is butcher block cheaper than granite?

    Butcher blocks are usually cheaper than granite, costing about $10 to $38 per square foot for butcher block countertops versus $15 to $140 per square foot for granite.

  • What is the best wood for a butcher block countertop?

    Maple is the best wood for wood countertops; the harder, the better.

  • Do you need to use a cutting board on butcher block countertops?

    You do not have to use a cutting board on butcher block countertops, but if you opt to use it, your countertop will last longer. A cutting board will also prevent your countertop from absorbing food stains.

The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. How much does a butcher block countertop cost? HomeAdvisor.

  2. Woodworking Machines - Table Saws. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

  3. Countertop Prices by Material. HomeAdvisor.