How would you refinish wood cutting boards?

[rdewinter]

I have been asked by a friend to refinish or renew her kitchen cutting boards. There are two wood boards showing their age and use after 25 years. One is missing the pull handle which is a grooved piece bread boarded to the front of the board with biscuits.
The boards need sanding and finishing with one needing a pull out handle. I'm trying to decide the best approach for this job. I could:
a) throw them away and make new ones. Although I'm trying to keep the style of the cabinets in tact. The cabinets doors are plain flat panel with slightly rounded edges, painted white and no hardware. My best guess is the cabinets are made of MDF but the cutting boards are wood.
b) Sand and refinish the existing boards with a belt sander and then with a random orbital sander using finer grit, then apply a finish.
c) Since the boards measure about 16" x 20", cut them in half and run them thru the planer, finish sand and glue them back together and apply a finish.

BTW, I will be using Rockler Butcher Block Oil to refinish the boards. I successfully used this oil on a walnut bowl that I turned.

How would you tackle this project, one of the above or a different approach?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and suggestions.

Bob
San Diego

[charlese]

I've used the same system (sanding and butcher block oil) as you are planning on a butcher block in our motor home. It has performed admirably for a decade.

I advise against ripping the boards in order to plane them. Why? Because they have most likely been treated with some type of oil over the past 25 years. This oil has penetrated to a depth that would inhibit gluing the pieces back together.

Just sand and re-finish. No need to go overboard with the machinery.

[robinson46176]

They do still make hand planes and they do still work.
Cordless woodworking...

[Ed in Tampa]

Once again Farmer hits the nail on the head. If they can't be easily resanded then like farmer I would use a hand plane

Who knows once you start, hearing the swosh of the blade, seeing the translucent paper thin shavings and feel the satisfaction of having enough craftsmanship to able to do it you just might fall in love with hand planning.

No better place to start than on something like a cutting board.

[a1gutterman]

Like others have said; avoid cutting the boards. Hand plane and/or sanding should do the trick. If they are too far gone, you can make new ones, but I wood start with what you have now. Duplicating the missing handle should knot be too difficult.

[fjimp]

Personally I would use my sand flee and carefully be careful to reverse direction front to back with each pass. This is to say one side gets sanded first pass the other side the next pass. With the sand Flee I never take much of a bite with each pass. I have used this method to refinish a table top after water from planters warped it. It worked great and I still love my sand flee. Before the sand flee I used a belt sander. A bit more challenging but still worked fine. Oh I am hand plane challenged. Sad to admit but I have never mastered use of one. Fjimp

[rdewinter]

Thanks for the input. I tend to agree with not cutting and planing the cutting boards. I don't own any hand planes or a sand flee, so it is back to the belt sander even though sanding is my least favorite woodworking process.

Bob
San Diego

[fjimp]

Bob I use3d a belt sander for refinishing a table top that one of my kids took a gouge out of. It took me awhile to master using a light touch. In the final analysis it worked very well. I do suggest using finer grade belts. 220 or higher for example. fjimp

[calver]

Depending on the amount you have to take off, you could use scrapers as well.

Dave C.

[Chesterton]

I went after a couple cutting boards that had taken some abuse. Tried sanding but the mineral oil in the wood gummed up the sandpaper real quick. Hand scraper worked great.