Food Prep Table

[chicken89]

So, I am in the process of making a food prep table for my wife. Curious to know what to use as a top "paint" coat. not sure if i want to paint with a color first, then put some kind of clear coat on, or if i just want to do a clear coat. the Kitchen is black and white themed. the frame of the table will be painted black, not sure what to do with the top
nothing else in the kitchen is bamboo, so i am not worried if the appearance is changed
TABLE INFO:
the top is made from Bamboo flooring, sanded down to remove the finish.
my wife has a bamboo cutting board, and the plastic sheets to use when slicing, so ideally there will be no cutting directly on the table.
In the pics, the hole on the larger side is for the garbage scraps. the garbage can fits underneath and the scraps can be slid right in. there will be a dowel rod to keep the flap closed if/when desired.
The wider part (side with the hole) will be hooked around the corner of the wall, and will **** up to the oven.

tried to upload pics, not sure if it worked

 

[NordicSaab]

About a year ago I painted a cabinet for the garage with rustoleum tint - able cabinet paint. I painted directly over laminate and only prepped by scuffing with a 600 sanding disc.

A year later the stuff still looks new. It's scrubbable and my god is it hard... I have dropped a 5 lb hammer on it with no problem...

 

[Zeke]

Are you kidding? Electrical outlet facing up on a food table? And flooring boards? That's gonna be a Petri dish for bacteria.

 

[ambenz]

Lynseed oil...

 

[theoldwizard1]

Linseed oil is a good choice but you need to do some research on applying it. Multiple coats are required with proper thinning on the first couple of coats.

2 BIG problems with Linseed oil

1. It takes MULTIPLE days to dry before you can apply another coat. The more coats, the longer it takes. It IS an incredible moisture resistant finish and once it is fully cured, it is very durable.
2. Rags used for cleaning up linseed oil WILL SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST ! Get them out of the house, out of the garage. Spread the wide open to dry

 

[Zeke]

Lynseed oil...

If you think oil will help, the only oil safe for food surfaces is mineral oil. Organic oils can get rancid. Processed oils for finishing contain petroleum chemicals. Linseed oil is used in oil paints and varnishes. Raw LO takes weeks to cure and is easily penetrated by water, hence bacteria.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Are you kidding? Electrical outlet facing up on a food table? And flooring boards? That's gonna be a Petri dish for bacteria.

... and it is not GFCI.

Hmmm ... maybe he is trying to bump off his wife ?


OP, ever wonder why food prep tables in commercial restaurants use stainless steel surfaces and plastic cutting boards ? HDPE is not the ideal surface for cutting, but it is easier on the knives than SS and it can be sterilized in a commercial dish washer.

 

[chicken89]

the outlet i can make into GFCI, i just wanted to get the placement of the outlet.
knock off my wife? why i'd never admit to that on a public forum
what is HDPE?
i did work in fast food for years. i understand why stainless steel is used, but i'm unable to afford that. hoping to find something that is more poor man friendly
Zeke- i was hoping to find a suitable table top covering that i could use so it wouldn't promote bacteria growth.

 

[ZRX61]

High-density polyethylene

 

[Zeke]

The outlet GFCI or not is a harbor for bacteria. It should be under the top and back a bit. A Formica top would be good. The trap door is not right. You either have an open hole with no seams all around or nothing. The hinges are worse than the outlet.

Come on, if you've been in the food service business you know better. Bait cutting and fish cleaning benches are much better than that. Sorry, but it's the raw truth.

A dry packing table will have less requirements but I don't think that is even up to that task. I built a dozen or so restaurants and food service counters in my time. I've had my health dept inspections. One time we built a small wet packing table/facility inside a business that only did dry packing of spices before. Boy, was that a game changer.

 

[ditchfisher]

I made my desk top out of left over bamboo flooring, and I think it will make a good prep table. My only concern with your table is the seams between the planks. I have made a lot of cutting boards, and have done two kitchens in butcher block maple. For the cutting boards I use mineral oil that you can buy at the grocery store. But for your bamboo I would use 3 or 4 coats of a good polyurethane. Just make sure that your seams are filled. As far as food safe finishes, here is a quote from Wood Magazine " Any commercial finish is safe, once it has dried and cured."
My wife wipes down everything with a diluted bleach mixture, and we are still chopping and prepping and eating after 40 years. I think you will be OK.

 

[southalabama]

Back in college days worked in grocery store. Only oils allowed in food prep area was mineral oil.

Hdpe is white cutting board material and it is not supposed to promote bacterial growth.

I'm in scavenger mode for things to build a prep area down by the pond. Spotted some Hdpe at SAMs club in the commercial cookware section and it was cutting boards. They were like 8 bucks for a 15x20.

The grocery store I worked at had stainless table with Hdpe tops. There were several pieces about that size. They could be taken off the top. Cleaned. Replaced. Even flipped over when worn out on one side.

A hole in the top is good for putting a garbage can under. Rake the scraps down the hole.

 

[bczygan]

Back in college days worked in grocery store. Only oils allowed in food prep area was mineral oil.

Hdpe is white cutting board material and it is not supposed to promote bacterial growth.

I'm in scavenger mode for things to build a prep area down by the pond. Spotted some Hdpe at SAMs club in the commercial cookware section and it was cutting boards. They were like 8 bucks for a 15x20.

The grocery store I worked at had stainless table with Hdpe tops. There were several pieces about that size. They could be taken off the top. Cleaned. Replaced. Even flipped over when worn out on one side.

A hole in the top is good for putting a garbage can under. Rake the scraps down the hole.

This is your correct answer.

I got my plastic for boards from a plastic supply company. Could rout a depression so they sit in the table top.

Mineral oil or salad bowl finish is the only food safe finish for wood. It must be reapplied from time to time.

I would also try to find a source for SS. You could buy a sheet and then have it sheared to exact size and bent up at a sheet metal shop. Simple cuts and bends. Not sure how to treat the outside corners. Either weld and grind or cover with a plastic bumper.

 

[rieferman]

Come on, if you've been in the food service business you know better. Bait cutting and fish cleaning benches are much better than that. Sorry, but it's the raw truth.

+1 I don't mean to be a jerk, but there's no way on earth that table can make it into a civilized kitchen. Bacteria, electrical, construction quality... just not suitable for the intended task.

 

[turbowoodworker]

Not to pile on but Zeke has said what I was thinking but not writing (If you can't say something nice...). But he is absolutely correct. There is nothing good about the OP's design except it is relatively flat.

If you are on a budget, CL has the correct SS tables on sale all the time. I picked one up for 30 bucks last year but you can pay hundreds.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Spotted some Hdpe at SAMs club in the commercial cookware section and it was cutting boards. They were like 8 bucks for a 15x20.

Was that recently ? I need some HDPE for a project and specifically recall seeing then in the past (approximately 1/2" thick, IIRC) but my Sam's Club did not stock them !!

BTW, that is an INCREDIBLE price !

 

[Lassen Forge]

Epoxy Resin. At the least. Food grade. Wil cost about $150 or so for the A & B parts. Stainless or a sheet of HDPE is way better. Actually... stainless wrapped around the edges to the underside, with an HDPE (the heavy white plastic stuff) cutting board "pegged" in. (Stainless pegs welded to the stainless top, holes in the cutting board surface for the pegs, all is cleanable, sterilixable, and sanitary!)

This is industry standard for restaurants, so this should be familiar to you.

Even then - that table needs some serious reworking. (Sorry to say that to you now - I know you got some time ito it!)

If you really want to use this for its intended purpose, then:

(a) get that electrical outlet off the top of the table!! Because the first (and last) time something gets spilled into that thing... well... Is her (or your) life insurance paid up? And how is she supposed to work around that thing? Get it (at least) on the face board UNDER the table edge... and a lip to protect it from that spilled coffee getting into it. Me? I'd put an outlet on the wall NEXT to the table! Serious - get that thing off of there. Replace the boards. And while youre at it, put a lip on the table so anything spilled WON'T nest in the space between the top and the 2x4's (and give some protection to the relocated electrical box).

(b) Get a good, heavy food grade epoxy resin coating that will cure thick and hard (like spar varnish thick) and coat the top, edges, sides of the "glory hole" and the ledge under it... that flooring bamboo will end up giving you headaches otherwise...

(c) I'd reengineer your glory hole - too big, leaves the left side unsupported, and the "trap door" isn't just unnecessary, it will create problems with structural integrity *and* will trap all kinds of stuff. Smaller hole, with a "lid" that sits over the top and removes for cleaning (and a hanger on the side of the table for it). As long as you're getting your "spousal electrocution device" outta there and replacing those 2 boards this is an easy fix...

(d) Get a sheet of food-grade HDPE and put at least some kind of cutting surface on that thing. You do NOT want her cutting into either the Bamboo or the Epoxy Resin. You could go wood cutting board surface as well...

I'd have stainless pegs installed into the stainless top (or at least into the woden top before you epoxy resin it) and adapt a *big* wooden board (holes to align with the pegs) as a baking board surface - that can be removed, cleaned, and replaced eventually.

Whatever you do, for gods sake, GET RID OF THAT OUTLET!!! That scares the hell out of me!!!

 

[southalabama]

Yep was couple weeks ago.

I should have grabbed a couple. Oh well next time.

I did grab a couple Rubbermaid gray bus box trays. Heavy duty. Cheap.

 

[southalabama]

From SAMs club website

Bakers & Chefs Commercial Cutting Board -15" x 20"
Model: 3850-12N | Item #: 734240

 

[bubinga]

Mineral oil or salad bowl finish is the only food safe finish for wood. It must be reapplied from time to time.

No, Shellac is also food safe. They use it to coat pills.

 

[bczygan]

No, Shellac is also food safe. They use it to coat pills.

You are right of course.

 

[Zeke]

No, Shellac is also food safe. They use it to coat pills.

Not the same thing. But that's not really the issue. Oil, shellac, food grade epoxy, whatever — it's seams or gaps between the boards that is the problem. Even if a material can be flowed over the top and fill in all the cracks. it will crack eventually.

Now, we ought to revisit this. Maybe this 'food prep table' is to be used once a week at a private residence and can be covered with wax paper or butcher's paper for each use. At that point we are making a mountain out of a molehill.

Oil that sucker up with anything so it can be washed and then cover it - use it.

Still, get the elec box off the top.

 

[Voi]

Agree with much of what has been said here but I want to address the fact that you've already sanded off the factory finish.

Since you've already done that work you can still go forward with using it as a food prep area, whether it be starting over on the table or making a few smaller cutting boards. I'd go so far as to say it would be a shame if you didn't use it.

To do that, I agree with Zeke, the gaps are the issue. Of course you could just use a plastic cutting matter over the top of it but then that defeats the purpose of sanding off the finish in the first place.

To properly get rid of them you really need to rip off the tongue and groove and then joint the bamboo for a proper glue up like you would see on a regular wood or bamboo cutting board.

As far as finish, everyone is mentioning mineral oil but really the traditional finish for wood or bamboo cutting boards and butcher blocks is a mixture of mineral oil and beeswax. If that has been mentioned I apologize -- I missed it. There are "recipes" online as to how to make your own.

As far as shellac, the wood finishing type is not the stuff that used as a food safe coating.

 

[Lippyp]

IKEA sell worktop oil for their wooden worktops, we had a wooden draining board around the belfast stone sink in our old kitchen and used it on that with good results. People have been using wooden worktops for food prep as long as we've been preparing food, as long as you seal any joints well with a good glue and filler if neccesary and then seal it you should be fine, a good chopping board and proper cleanup is more the key to good food hygiene than the surface you work on.

I also have had a nightmare seeing that socket/outlet on the table, its a massive nono anywhere that you might have liquids. At a push you could get by with one of those raised angled jobs you sometimes see on lab benches but really it should be on the wall behind the bench. Like the others have said, one spill and its flash bang crackle buzz and one crispy wife (or kid if you have them!)

 

[rlitman]

Are you kidding? Electrical outlet facing up on a food table? And flooring boards? That's gonna be a Petri dish for bacteria.

I'm actually ok with the flooring boards. Butcher block is workable as a food surface and can actually be more sanitary than HDPE. SOME types of bamboo are better than wood for this, and the hard types used in flooring are just that type.

Yeah, the up-facing outlet is an AWFUL idea. Either spend mega bucks on the type of horizontal facing outlet pods used on lab benches, or move the outlet to the side.

If you think oil will help, the only oil safe for food surfaces is mineral oil. Organic oils can get rancid. Processed oils for finishing contain petroleum chemicals. Linseed oil is used in oil paints and varnishes. Raw LO takes weeks to cure and is easily penetrated by water, hence bacteria.

"Boiled" linseed oil is toxic. That's why it is not food grade. Mineral oil is not toxic, but is far from the only choice in oils. You are correct that oils that go rancid are not a good choice. But note this. Mineral oil does not ever cure. Boiled linseed oil cures rapidly. Raw linseed oil takes months to years to cure. The reason is that the curing process is the same chemical auto-oxidation that causes rancidity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drying_oil

The reason that boiled linseed oil cures rapidly is that the oxidation process has been chemically accelerated in it. Yep, that linseed oil finish is just the final step of the oil going rancid.

My first choice for a FIRST coating on a brand new food prep wood surface is bees wax. You work it all around with a scraper and a heat gun to melt it in. After the wax is thoroughly in the wood, you can re-treat with mineral oil. It's a small fraction of the price of salad-bowl/cutting-board oil, and is just as good. You can of course use mineral oil on the first treatment too, but it will take several coats applied over several weeks to get enough oil to soak into the wood to be safe.

No, Shellac is also food safe. They use it to coat pills.

This is dangerous advice. While shellac is not poisonous, it is not a safe food prep surface. It builds up on the surface, but many foods can break it down, and it is impervious to just about nothing.

Oil works on wood by displacing any water in the wood, and leaving a surface that is water repellent. The dry sub-surface does not allow for the growth of bacteria.

 

[rlitman]

IKEA sell worktop oil for their wooden worktops, we had a wooden draining board around the belfast stone sink in our old kitchen and used it on that with good results. People have been using wooden worktops for food prep as long as we've been preparing food, as long as you seal any joints well with a good glue and filler if neccesary and then seal it you should be fine, a good chopping board and proper cleanup is more the key to good food hygiene than the surface you work on.

I also have had a nightmare seeing that socket/outlet on the table, its a massive nono anywhere that you might have liquids. At a push you could get by with one of those raised angled jobs you sometimes see on lab benches but really it should be on the wall behind the bench. Like the others have said, one spill and its flash bang crackle buzz and one crispy wife (or kid if you have them!)

LOL, I was typing my reply before I finished reading the thread, so to see your comment about the outlets, and Voi's comment about beeswax was a good laugh. Totally agreed on both.

Just a comment on glue. It must be a waterproof glue. Titebond III is what I would use.

 

[mtmgtz]

Most bamboo flooring contains formaldehyde so it is not safe for food preparation.

I won't comment on the rest of the table.

 

[rlitman]

Most bamboo flooring contains formaldehyde so it is not safe for food preparation.

Biodegradable products imported from China (especially wood and bamboo, but also leather products, and even things like pet chew toys) are often treated with chemicals that would not be approved in a first world country.

I would have just as much concern with an imported cutting board. Unless you have proof that the bamboo or wood was domestically sourced, there is a good chance it was treated with something bad.

As for formaldehyde, I'd say that this is probably the least of your concerns, as it would most likely out-gas on the boat trip here, and prevent any termite or fungal infestation on that same trip. My bigger concern would be arsenic, which is used for the same purposes, but does not just disappear.

 

[tymbo]

That is NOT bamboo!

 

[lynnbilodeau]

Not proposing you drive to OKC, but have to believe that CL in Indiana wouldn't yield similar results.
http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/bfs/4619728829.html

Indianapolis:
http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/tls/4635779019.html
http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/bfs/4634670182.html
This may be a bit small: http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/app/4632494738.html

But you get the idea. I have a hard time believing you are going to spend less than 150 bucks re inventing the wheel.

 

[PugetDude]

So, I am in the process of making a food prep table for my wife. Curious to know what to use as a top "paint" coat. not sure if i want to paint with a color first, then put some kind of clear coat on, or if i just want to do a clear coat. the Kitchen is black and white themed. the frame of the table will be painted black, not sure what to do with the top
nothing else in the kitchen is bamboo, so i am not worried if the appearance is changed
TABLE INFO:
the top is made from Bamboo flooring, sanded down to remove the finish.
my wife has a bamboo cutting board, and the plastic sheets to use when slicing, so ideally there will be no cutting directly on the table.
In the pics, the hole on the larger side is for the garbage scraps. the garbage can fits underneath and the scraps can be slid right in. there will be a dowel rod to keep the flap closed if/when desired.
The wider part (side with the hole) will be hooked around the corner of the wall, and will **** up to the oven.

tried to upload pics, not sure if it worked

Nice workbench.

 

[tjpavlov]

There is no way that top is bamboo. Look at the pictures. Bamboo is a grass. There shouldn't be wide grains.

 

[mmack66]

There is no way that top is bamboo. Look at the pictures. Bamboo is a grass. There shouldn't be wide grains.

Or knots.

 

[mmack66]

Which side is supposed to be the front?