Hi,
Looking for advice on how to tighten an antique butcher block. If you aren't familiar with the construction of these blocks, they're about 24"X24"x24", made up of 144 2"x2"x24" pieces of maple, stacked on end to form the block (the block's cutting surface is made up of the 144 end grains). They're dovetailed together in one direction, and in the other they appear to be flat, just held together by glue or by dowels or threaded rods. You can't tell which, but about halfway down on the two sides perpendicular to the flat joints there are three 3" round pieces of wood that appear to go through the block from one side to the other holding all the flat joints together. I assume them to be the ends of large dowels, or wooden plugs to cover metal rods.
The block is seriously old, and as a result, the wood has dried out to the point where the centre flat joint has come loose. The whole block can shift back and forth, and this centre joint can create quiet a lip on the surface of the block if it isn't centred just so.
What I'm wondering is, can I soak the wood and cause the whole works to swell up again, and re-tighten all the joints? If I do this, should I use water, or oil? I would think long term soaking in water might cause a mould/mildew problem. Mineral oil maybe? Or should I drill into the 3" round pieces on the sides to see if they're dowels or plugs covering threaded rod? If its rods I could tighten them up, and recover with new plugs.
Or, maybe I should inject the centre joint with epoxy, put a band clamp on it and forget the whole thing! I'm going to try the Michigan Maple Block company again on Monday, apparently Friday afternoon isn't a good time for them.
Thanks y'all,
Mark NB
Looking for advice on how to tighten an antique butcher block. If you aren't familiar with the construction of these blocks, they're about 24"X24"x24", made up of 144 2"x2"x24" pieces of maple, stacked on end to form the block (the block's cutting surface is made up of the 144 end grains). They're dovetailed together in one direction, and in the other they appear to be flat, just held together by glue or by dowels or threaded rods. You can't tell which, but about halfway down on the two sides perpendicular to the flat joints there are three 3" round pieces of wood that appear to go through the block from one side to the other holding all the flat joints together. I assume them to be the ends of large dowels, or wooden plugs to cover metal rods.
The block is seriously old, and as a result, the wood has dried out to the point where the centre flat joint has come loose. The whole block can shift back and forth, and this centre joint can create quiet a lip on the surface of the block if it isn't centred just so.
What I'm wondering is, can I soak the wood and cause the whole works to swell up again, and re-tighten all the joints? If I do this, should I use water, or oil? I would think long term soaking in water might cause a mould/mildew problem. Mineral oil maybe? Or should I drill into the 3" round pieces on the sides to see if they're dowels or plugs covering threaded rod? If its rods I could tighten them up, and recover with new plugs.
Or, maybe I should inject the centre joint with epoxy, put a band clamp on it and forget the whole thing! I'm going to try the Michigan Maple Block company again on Monday, apparently Friday afternoon isn't a good time for them.
Thanks y'all,
Mark NB
