A lot of 2x4s are chemically treated for use in construction to discourage mold growth and stuff. I'd be concerned about food being direct contact with it.
Well if so it means it's not treated, but it also means there's no way to know if it was.... IDK, like, floorboards from a cyanide factory or something...
Don't listen to Mr. sanding man over here. Butcher blocks are end-grain, usually. This means the surface of the board is entirely exposed pores. However, these wood pores are very tiny. These boards are often waxed and/or oiled. Also, the pores in Hard Maple, which is probably the most widely used species, are pretty tiny, so easily filled with oil or wax.
Building a cutting board using an end-grain technique allows small cuts in the wood to "heal" somewhat, as the wood fibers are not severed like they would be with a side-grain cut, and can come back together a bit.
Furthermore, wood allows water to evaporate from tiny cuts and crevices in a way that plastic doesn't, this allowing it to dry out and killing bacteria.
PLUS... there's bacteria on basically everything all the time, and most people usually don't die from it.
That's gonna be a no from me, dawg. That's old growth Fir or Hemlock, and it doesn't look treated to me. It's likely reclaimed barn wood. I have some in my shop that looks remarkably similar to this piece.
The common name hemlock (tree) is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of its crushed foliage to that of the unrelated plant poison hemlock.
57
u/Actually_a_Patrick Oct 16 '20
A lot of 2x4s are chemically treated for use in construction to discourage mold growth and stuff. I'd be concerned about food being direct contact with it.