We had an old store burn down in the square of our town of Millville pa.
I was watching them ripping what was left of the old place down one board at a time.
They dragged an old butcher block counter out of the basement.
I stopped and bought it for $20.00. I was able to save a 14 foot chunk of it.
To my surprise it was put together with square nails. Now thats gotta be old.
Looks to be white oak. Needs refinished but thats the fun stuff.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39553/_Fireside_Video_.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39553/Butcher_block_2.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39553/Butcher_block__3.JPG)
Shame about the store. Great catch you got there.
ironically the store says "fireside video". cool save on the butcher block.could it have been a piece of a bowling alley at some point?
The butcher block was part of the locker meat plant that it use to be.
I remember my Mom and Dad buying all our food from this store when it
was called Bakers Economy Market. I'm sure I ate meat that was cut on this board.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39553/Bakers_Economy_Market.jpg)
sad story for the folks and building, and I would say it looks more like maple, good save there,,
That's a shame it burned but just plain neat you saved that part of it. A good friend of mine and his inlaws bought the old hardware store here and awhile back I got a tour of the basement (which I didn't even know existed), I need to get a few pictures, the building dates back to 1902? I think, so there's a few watzits down there :).
FWIW most butcher blocks were made from hard maple .
Neat old photo. Like the phone booth next to it.
Quote from: Al_Smith on February 01, 2016, 07:44:48 PM
FWIW most butcher blocks were made from hard maple .
I'll get another picture when I get it sanded. Looked like oak to me.
Today I scraped about a ton of mud off the board. I started to sand it.
The wood seems to have a lot of oil in it and does not sand very good.
I did not get a chance to take more pictures but I now think it's a
mixture of all different kinds of wood.
More pictures will come.
Kb
Can you scrape it with a cabinet scraper .
It would look great with the hand scraped look .
Bruno
Quote from: Bruno of NH on February 02, 2016, 08:03:55 PM
Kb
Can you scrape it with a cabinet scraper .
It would look great with the hand scraped look .
Bruno
Thats what I started out with and it was working better than the sander.
The sandpaper was just loading up and i was useing open coat.
Butchers blocks are made with an end grain top, it keeps the knives sharp longer.
I don't think they would have nails in them.
just saying :) :) :)
Square nails is all that holds this one together. It flexes when you try to pick it up.
I will take pictures of the broken parts I cut off..I cant imagen how many nails are in this thing.
The building was put up in the 1800's
nice save! I cant wait to see the pics when you get it sanded. did it get any water damage?
Quote from: yukon cornelius on February 03, 2016, 08:27:51 AM
nice save! I cant wait to see the pics when you get it sanded. did it get any water damage?
I think you could put this thing in the creek for a week with no water damage.
Over the years I think it got lard and fat soaked. Makes it hard to sand.
The only finish that I will be able to use will need to be oil based.
Thanks for saving part of a great old building! Things like that are the way to my heart
Older bowling alley stuff a friend salvaged was nailed together with many nails.
He learned a hard lesson when ripping the first piece.
He used it for the floor of his camp, looks great.
It's funny how over the years, the term 'butcher block' has come to mean any wood made up of strips, whereas it originally meant end grain, like losttheplot said. Even manufacturers do it. I'm not sure what the correct name is for a piece made up of strips, rather than end grain. At any rate, that looks like a piece of old bowling alley. It must have been an OLD alley if that piece was repurposed so many years ago! It's cool when you know where your reclaimed wood came from.
Your right ... Maybe I should say butcher block counter top.
I worked at Grizzly Toola and we sold butcher block counter tops that looked like what I have.
I guess thats why I called it that. I have seen the real thing thats sometimes 24" thick.
I wonder if this peice was made just for this store. How old is the game of bowing ?
I wondering how they put in so many square nails and never split the wood.
Just putting a nail in white oak alone would be a choir.
Wikipedia says lawn bowling started around 400 CE and indoor bowling started in England in the 1500's
its not very clear on when the modern bowling lane came about, but i didn't read the whole article so it could have been in there.
originally the bowling balls were made from lignum vitae.
i have been told square nails split less then round nails, because instead of pushing the fibers apart then tend to tear them
Well I got the lower part made for my top... Thinking the whole thing weights 1000 lbs.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39553/DSC04041.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39553/DSC04042.JPG)