There’s nothing quite like a real vintage bread board. They hold so much character from use and the wear of time. You can find bread boards at antique shops, estate sales, auctions, and on Etsy. A larger sized bread board will most likely be $100 or more. There are also Etsy artisans who make “vintage style” bread boards.
 |
| Source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/148618856425804533/ |
wood for the bread board
I did some research and decided why not try to make my own vintage-style bread board. The hardest thing I found was trying to find the right piece of wood. I wanted a maple board that was at least 10 inches wide. To my surprise, maple boards this wide are not available at the local Lowe’s or Home Depot. Most of the wood sold at these stores is called “white wood”, which is most always pine. Really, the type of wood is your preference. We finally found a local lumbar yard that had a rough cut piece of maple for $5 a foot. My brother-in-law has a planer and Mark ran the rough cut plank through the planer until it had a smooth surface.
On one end of the board I drew the design for the handle and Mark used the jigsaw to cut it out. Then he drilled a hole in the handle. I used sandpaper to sand around the edges. For the finish, you need to make sure the board is food safe. Most places I found recommended food grade mineral oil, which is also used to seal butcher block. However, it doesn’t add any color to the wood.
how to make your bread board food safe
I finally found a product sold by The Real Milk Paint Company called Dark Raw Tung Oil, which is approved as food safe by the FDA. This product gives an antique look while providing a water resistant coating. An 8 oz. bottle is $15.99. Please be aware that not all tung oil is FDA approved. This is the only product that I could find that provides color and water resistance and is also food safe.
In total, I did spend about $25 for this bread board, but it’s something that I’ll use quite a bit and is just the right size for my table.
What a great idea! I bet I can find some old maple or oak boards around here that would work for that. What great gifts they would make!
Thank you so much for your detailed ideas. I would never have thought of FDA approved oil/stain! Great photos as well. I found the post very inspiring.
It's time to have Kevin start looking for a piece of maple! That's what our island top of made of–and, you guessed it–it isn't in one piece. I think either Kevin glued the pieces together or where he bought it. I love the look of yours–like you paid mega bucks because maybe Martha Washington used it!!
Linda
You will be using your bread board over and over – the perfect starting point for a lovely table!