Hey everyone! I'm a custom cabinet maker currently building my forever home kitchen and I've hit a bit of a snag. I'm deciding between maple and white oak for my island's butcher block counter. The counter will be used for processing wild game and farm animals, so I'm planning to leave it untreated with no finish or sealant. While maple was my first choice, my lower cabinets are made of white oak, and I think it would look really nice to match. I'm curious if anyone has experience using white oak as a butcher block and if there are any significant downsides to choosing oak over maple. The dimensions will be 42.25 x 66. I'm going with a supplier for better longevity and quality instead of making it myself. Any advice would be appreciated!
6 Answers
I’d suggest going with maple. Both choices will work, but white oak requires more maintenance. If you don’t mind a bit of upkeep, oak can be beautiful, but it might be tricky to keep it looking good after processing. Just a thought!
When I built my island, my wife insisted on stainless steel, and to my surprise, it turned out really well. If you're still leaning towards wood, though, maple is your best bet.
Maple is the traditional choice and works wonderfully for butcher blocks. I've done several projects with white oak, but mostly for tables or benches, not really for practical use like this.
I have solid maple cutting boards that I love. They hold up great! But I've heard that white oak, especially not the red variety, is good for cutting boards due to its sealed pores. I agree that people usually use it for aesthetics rather than actual work. So I’m interested in hearing from someone who's done it in practice.
If you really love the look of oak and it goes with your design, definitely go for it! Quarter sawn oak would be even better. Just consider that a non-porous material might be more practical as a surface. For the occasional butchering, you could have a removable wooden top that looks nice for daily use and can be cleaned easier.
I hear you on the practicality! We have a stainless steel table for outdoor processing, but I want my kitchen island to be usable too. I could see having a removable top being helpful.
Honestly, it’ll look great until you start chopping up your game, then it’ll be messy with blood stains. In my opinion, focus on a surface that can handle that kind of work. It might be better to do that outside if you can.
I get that, but this is farm life for us, so the butcher block will get used as intended. I'm just looking for insight on how white oak performs for that.
True, I could see the maintenance issue. I’m okay with a bit of sanding over the years. Just trying to gather experiences on how well oak holds up for this kind of work.