Sand the cutting board starting with a 100 grit or 80 grit to remove and deep cuts.

Then work your way dowm to a 200 grit to make it very smooth. Crisco, O ive Oi or any other organic oi shou d not be used on !ood preparation sur!aces. These products get into the wood and can ead to nasty bacteria growth. "nstead, it is recommended that you use #inera oi to treat the cutting board. #inera oi can be purchased in the $ea th and %eauty section o! and &iscount retai er such as Target or 'a (#art. ) so at *harmacies. +ven though you state that you intend on using as additiona counter space, since it is a cutting board, chances are that at some point it wi be used !or ,ust that purpose. 'hy take a chance when the correct so ution is this easy.

Instructions
1 Clean thoroughly, front, back and sides of the wooden cutting board with soapy water and rinse with warm water. Make sure the cutting board is completely dry before starting the next step. 2 Use first the dry sandpaper and begin sanding the wooden cutting board. Make sure you are sanding with the grain of the wood, and sanding with long strokes, otherwise you may end up with an uneven surface. Continue with the dry sandpaper until the deepest cuts in the board are ust about gone. !hen switch to the wet sandpaper for a smoother finish on the surface. "n optional method, for very deep cuts, is begin with lightly planing the cutting board surface with a wood plane, followed by sanding. !his is not a necessary step, and should only be undertaken if you have experience with wood planes. #hen you have sanded the cuts, scratches and stains from the cutting board to your satisfaction, rinse the board thoroughly to remove any wood dust from it, then let it dry. $f wood dust is left on the board, it may dull knives used on the board later.

% #ipe the mineral oil on the surface of the wooden cutting board with a clean cloth, going with the grain of the wood. &ou may wish to slightly heat the oil before applying it on the board. #atch the mineral oil soak into the board. #hen it has soaked in and allowed to harden a bit 'about an hour or two between each application(, apply more mineral oil. )epeat this four to six times until there

appears to be an excess of oil on the surface. !hen wipe off any excess oil. "llow the oil to completely harden, which takes around six hours, before beginning the next step. * #ipe bees wax with a soft clean cloth on the cutting board surface. +ees wax has the consistency of shoe polish and will seal the surface and make it more water resistant. +ees wax helps to keep moisture, bacteria and other contaminants from getting into the wood surface. "ny excess bees wax can be buffed off with the cloth. ,nce the wooden cutting board has time to completely dry, it can be further buffed to a shine and look like new.

Tips & Warnings

"fter refinishing your wooden cutting board, it is advised that you apply a coat of mineral oil once a month, or as needed. -ever use a wooden cutting board to cut any type of meat because, no matter how well the board is cleaned, harmful bacteria can remain in the wood. -ever clean a wooden cutting board by putting it in the dishwasher. $t will dry it out too much and may cause cracking. "lways hand clean a wooden cutting board using warm sudsy water and clean rinse water.

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Step 4

#ax with Clapam>s +eeswax ?alad +owl @inish or any other food7grade wax designed for wood kitchen utensil use.
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Q: $ have an old butcher block and $ can>t decide whether $ should use it as counter space or as a cutting board. "re there different ways of refinishing it for each useA B Mary, )ineyville, Centucky A: Tom Silva replies: $ have a butcher block in my house and they do make great countertops as well as cutting surfaces. &ou don>t want to refinish your butcher block, ust clean it and keep it clean, which should be done by simply scraping it. !here>s probably a special tool for it now, but

it used to be that when butchers cleaned their butcher blocks, they would use a scraper made of a piece of steel with a wooden cap on it, which they>d sharpen on a stone to create an edge. !hen all they would do is drag the edge across the block, scraping the surface and cleaning it. !he only thing you should ever treat the surface of a butcher block with is mineral oil. "nything else will cause more problems than it>s worth, especially if you>re going to use it to cut on. $f you put a urethane on it, cutting on it will scratch and ruin the plastic. "t that point you>d have a bigger problem. &ou>d have to sand off the urethane coating. ?o a wide, sharp, good7:uality paint drag7scraper would be the best tool $ can think of to use. "nd when you>re doing that, you want to scrape it backwards toward you, rather than using a planing motion pushing forward. !his will help you keep from splitting the ends of the butcher block. ,nce it>s clean, you may also want to sand it with a sanding block. Use coarse paper, maybe a 347grit, to start with, and then end up with 1447grit. @inish by rubbing in a light application of good mineral oil.