My $8 thrift store butcher block top warped after 2 months

Picked up a solid maple butcher block at Goodwill for $8, thought I scored big. Sanded it down, applied three coats of Danish oil, mounted it on my old desk frame. Two months later the front edge lifted a full quarter inch, now my mouse slides uphill. Turns out it was already dried out bad and I never let it acclimate inside my garage before finishing. Shoulda just paid $30 for a new pine slab from Home Depot and skipped the drama. Anyone else had a thrift top betray them like this, or am I the only dummy who cut the moisture corners?

1 comments

1 Comment

ellis.susan5d ago

Honestly I used to think any thrift store wood was a steal if the price was right, but your story just proved me wrong. The garage drying thing is exactly the corner I would have cut too, and I never would have blamed the moisture, I would have blamed the wood. Now I get why people say to let it sit inside for weeks before you even look at it with sandpaper.