Kitchen // How to cut an IKEA Butcher Block
Today I’ll be showing you How to cut an IKEA Butcher Block. Cutting a butcher block can be very intimidating and might even scare you off, so you end up hiring someone to do it for you. It’s actually not as difficult as you may think!!!
I will break it down for you, to make it easier and understandable. You will gain confidence and tackle this counter all by yourself, promise.
Before I started cutting my own butcher block countertop, I had watched numerous YouTube videos to gain that confidence I needed for this part of my kitchen Reno-project.
I also found out that a circular saw is the best option to cut butcher block, luckily we already owned one and just needed to get a better blade (more on that later). Ok, so let’s get started with the tools you will need.
Kitchen // How to cut an IKEA Butcher Block
Tools:
- Circular saw
- A 7 1/4 blade with 60 teeth – for finishing cuts
- 2 clamps
- 1 piece of straight lumber 2×3″ preferable – this will be clamped down to guide your circular saw
- Measurement tape
- Pencil
- You want to measure your cutting line, use the measurement tape and mark 3 spots with your length. I was cutting off 6″ inches, so I marked 6″ on the left, right and in the middle. This will help you to draw a straight line.
- Now measure your circular saw, blade to the edge… mine was 1 1/2″ inches.
- Add your saw measurements to your cutting line (Example: 6″ + 1.5″ = 7.5″)
- Mark the 7.5″ that you measured to the board, the same way I explained above on step #1.
- Now, clamp your lumber on the second line to the inside of your butcher block down (see image above).
Before cutting your butcher block, make sure you have a 7 1/” blade with 60 teeth – for finishing cuts attached to your circular saw. Set the saw blade up higher, you only want to cut half way through the wood. I had cut my first piece perfectly, without the half & half cut instructions. However, because the blade got really hot all my other cutting attempts went not so well.
Luckily I didn’t use my actual cut, I had marked a different line to cut on so I can practice. See the curvy, uneven cut? The blade gets too hot and starts bending toward the inside. You can eliminate that by setting your blade up higher, then cut only half way trough your wood and you will end up with a straight line.
The second line was cut half way through the wood, it is a bit more work because you will have to turn your butcher block and measure + cut again, but I rather did that than having to buy a new butcher block.
PREVIOUS ON MY KITCHEN MAKEOVER:
If you like to start reading about our kitchen takedown from the beginning, you may start here:
- My Kitchen design
- Where and how I designed our new kitchen
- How to remove upper kitchen cabinets
- How to remove countertops, base cabinets and backsplash/tile
- How to install drywall
- How to install kitchen cabinets
I’m also sharing sneak peeks on instagram, you can follow me at @oheverythinghandmade
Have a nice day!
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Hi Bettina,
Great article on your butcher block cutting technique. I do woodworking, to some degreee. I’m looking to buy a piece of butcher block for a custom studio desk. The one you show in your blog post/tutorial, where did you get it?
Hi Matt, thanks for stopping by. I loved our kitchen, the butcher block was from IKEA and I just refinished it with a walnut stain and some coats of sealer.