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Butcher block countertops — great prices, 75 sizes

pam kueber - Updated: May 13, 2021

Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.

butcher block countertops from mcmaster carrbutcher block countertops from mcmaster carrMy obsession with finding the perfect storage solutions for my office studio remodel has been leading me to new resources. (Well, new to me.) My latest discovery: McMaster-Carr, who market all kinds of products to engineering types, and whose online catalog claims to feature 490,000 different products. Yes: 490,000 items. The first thing I want to spotlight from this incredible compendium: Butcher block countertops — in both maple and oak — that are offered in an expansive range of sizes — and at what, to me, seem like terrific prices. In addition, the maple butcher block comes in two thickness — a standard 1-3/4″ but also, a hunkier chunkier 2-1/4″. You can also get several edging styles. Based on one website I found (C&H) these seem to be made by John Boos, the famous maker of butcher block.

I discovered McMaster-Carr while visiting a friend’s house last week. She was using the 2-1/4 maple butcher block as a long run of countertop in her office studio: It looked fantastic.

Of course, this material also can be used in a kitchen. I am a big proponent of using a variety of surfaces in your kitchen — especially the larger that it is. To be sure, this butcher block is going to be fussier to care for than laminate. But, if you keep the surface oiled and clean up spills quickly — and learn to love patina — it would look great in most retro kitchens.

Maybe a bit to the left of your stove? That’s where I put mine.

Maybe use it for a bit of space where you keep family memos and such?

For the top of a small island?

I just would not set a sink into it — keep persistent water away.

The only place I know of to get this sort of countertop for less money is Ikea — they have a 96″L x 24″D x 1.5″thick birch countertop for $139. To compare, the similar sized (but 1.75″ thick) maple counter from McMaster-Carr is $293. I found one more place, C&H, that has some of the same butcher block (it appears) *currently* on sale — a few sizes may be less expensive, although not all, and not all sizes are available compared to McMaster-Carr.

Does anyone know of a better source for butcher block at a better price?
If so, I’d sure like to hear.

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22 comments

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  1. Letha Dearborn says

    I just want to thank you for the info and links. I am turning a barn into a home and butcherblock counter tops on my kitchen island is perfect. The island is long and deep so finding affordable appropriate counter tops has not been easy.

  2. Jim says

    I just bought a 1-3/4″ x 26″ x 48″ maple butcher block for my dad for his birthday from this guy in Portage, WI for $200. He custom cut and routed the edges right at his shop and didn’t charge a penny more. I picked it up when I was driving through the area but he said all his prices include delivery in the midwest and if I found a lower price he’d guarantee that he would beat it. I was extremely pleased with his work. I’m having him make a couple more table tops for me next week. I found him on craigslist, here’s his website: http://www.foreverjointtops.com/Maple-Forever-Joint-Butcher-Block-Tops_c2.htm

  3. Brian says

    I love McMaster-Carr. I work in a university physics lab, and we order fabrication stuff from there all the time. They have almost everything in stock at our local warehouse in Santa Fe Springs. Typically, orders placed in the morning are received that afternoon. You do pay a bit extra for that convenience. Shipping cost is reasonable. I ordered my 72″ long computer/writing desk from McMcaster-Carr. The maple tops are indeed supplied by John Boos and are of excellent quality. I’m using the recessed-style legs with stringer. I finished the maple with General Finishes High Performance water-based gloss poly sprayed on with an HVLP gun.

  4. Katie says

    If you need a very small piece of countertop, you can sometimes diy it out of a piece of butcher block cutting board. My husband did that in our kitchen, we needed a 12″ by 18″ section of countertop, that would match our birch butcher block countertops. So I bought a $10 Lamplig cutting board at IKEA, and he cut and glued it to the right size.
    For what its worth, I’ve had IKEA butcher block countertops in my kitchen for almost two years, and so far, I’ve been very happy with them. Very solid, very durable.

  5. Lydia Baese says

    Pam – if you’re still looking for String-style shelving you might want to look at issdesigns.com if you haven’t already. We’re looking for some (also referred to as CSS – comprehensive storage system) for our living room and noticed iss designs in our Spring issue of Atomic Ranch Magazine.

    • pam kueber says

      Thank you, the ISS is nice looking! I will add it to my list to spotlight on the blog.

  7. TappanTrailerTami says

    Hi Pam,

    Don’t forget to check out Lumber Liquidators….they carry CHERRY butcher block for the same money as the maple at McMaster-Carr. Be sure to go through all the reviews as people have posted before and after photos.

    Wow….just did a search on their website, and they actually have maple, oak, cherry, and walnut countertops!

    http://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll/s/williamsburg

  10. Joe says

    Before we ripped apart our kitchen to put in our Geneva/formica kitchen we had butcherblock from Ikea. It was a little thinner in height than some other butcherblock but it was crazy cheap.

    [link broken]