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A butcher block can be a wonderful addition to any kitchen and if you been thinking about buying one of these tables for your kitchen, you probably have seen how expensive they can be. That is OK because you can make your own for a lot less money.The popularity of butcher block is understandable because not only are they a great table for a variety of things but they are also quite attractive and add a nice touch to your kitchen.If the decision is to make your own Butcher Block, you will need to make sure that you know exactly what kind of wood that you want for your table. There are a couple of woods you should stay clear of when making the table. Those would be oak and spalted maple. Other woods such as beech, hard maple, walnut and ash are all great woods to make butcher block from.After you have chosen the wood that you want to use, you can then go and get an unfinished pre-made butcher block table or you can actually make your own. It is important that the thickness is at least one and a half inches thick if not more. The thicker it is the better it will hold up against a lot of use. If you have no woodworking experience at all it would probably be wise if you did buy the unfinished pre-made butcher block table top.If you decide however to make it from scratch you can take the end grain of the wood and cut on the grain surface because this part of the wood is far more durable. Using the end grain will mean that there will be more pieces to put together so you might want to go with the side grain which will be less pieces and it is almost as sturdy.To make your own, take your butcher block and cut it into one by two inch pieces that are cut about one half inch longer than what the actual table length is going to be. These pieces all need to be glued together along the two inch side which will make the side grain will show up in one inch pieces. The amount of strips that you will need will depend upon the actual size of the table. So if your table is say two feet by four feet you would need overall 32 pieces.Once you have all the pieces cut and ready to glue, make sure that you get a good strong wood glue that you will need to piece all the wood strips together. Glue all the strips together and hold the pieces together with clamps. Once it is dry you should take some sand paper and gently sand off any excess glue that may be on the wood.The step you will now take is while using a table saw cut off all the individual ends to where they are all even with each other for a smooth edge. This will also even out your table top.Take sandpaper or a sander if you have one and begin sanding both the top and the bottom of the Butcher Block. You want the wood to be as smooth as possible.The next phase goes for both the pre-made table top and the hand crafted one. You will now want to round out the corners, this can be done with a router and while you are doing it, if you want you can be creative as well. Most however; only round the edges. The reason for this is safety and it makes it easier to clean after use.After the edges are rounded nicely the next thing you will do is add oil to the surface of the table. The best oils to use are either mineral oil or olive oil. Once you have rubbed it in make sure to let it soak into the wood. Now, you will sand it one more time before adding a second layer of the oil. A smart thing to do to keep the wood in good shape is to put oil on it one time a month if possible.Unless you are very good at woodworking, you are going to want to purchase legs from a hardware store. There are a variety of different types of legs that you can purchase anywhere from wrought iron to a variety of woods. The best thing in this stage is to be creative. Get something that is going to make your table stand out. What you decide to do with regards to the legs is only limited to your imagination.