Sears or Ikea butcher block??

[axl911]

I am looking to put a butcher block on my workbench. Sears and IKEA both sell butcher block for around the same price. Anyone know which one is better in quality and wear?

I am tempted by Sears because it is on sale and is available. Any suggestion?

Thanks.

 

[ImportTuner]

Got a part number for the Sears butcher block?

 

[axl911]

Here is the Sears

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-6'-butcher-block-work-surface/p-00914961000P?prdNo=1#ReviewsSection

 

[sillwic9]

I've got ikea butcher block in my kitchen. I used a couple of cutoffs out in my garage. I love em. They're heavy and as durable as wood counters get.

 

[ImportTuner]

Good price on the Sear butcher block; I believe the Ikea is 1 3/4" thick .. the Sears is 1 1/2" think. My Ikea top has been holding up pretty good.

 

[machine_punk]

I don't know anything about the Sears butcher block.

I can, however, definitely recommend the Ikea butcher block. I've had an Ikea base cabinet with the butcher block top in my kitchen for 5 years and it is still in fabulous condition. I would not hesitate to get the Ikea top, if that is the sort of surface I wanted on my workbench.

Kev

 

[shannonw]

i've been using the ikea, i had used it on an old snapon, then i had leftover from a house project. heck i only have it setup on 2 saw horses because i had originally used it for something else in side the house. I just coated it with some kind of oil just to repel a bit of water. Really after i set it on the saw horses (i may have a ply piece under there) i expected it to fall apart but i bang on it and stuff no problems.

 

[rsanter]

I ordered one from sears. Waited forever for it to show up. They kept telling me to call back in a couple weeks for an answer.
After a couple of months I canceled the order

Bob

 

[axl911]

Ikea in my area is sold out so I may have no choice to go with Sears. Anyone how is the quality of the Sears butcher block?

 

[LandR]

I bought the stainless steel sears 8' for $115 last weekend.

Cutting it down to 6' for a fold down workbench this weekend. Will use the other section for another build. Good construction and for the price can't be beat.

-Sam

 

[neel2008]

hmm I never thought about IKEA for a butcher block....Ill have to check that out next time I'm in Cincy....

 

[Hammer1963]

I have IKEA butcher block tops on all of my tool cabs. They are made of Beech and have held up very well over the past 2-3 yrs. You just can't beat the beauty and durability of a good butcher block top

 

[gilbo]

another vote for the IKEA butcher block, that what i am using for my work bench

 

[bad_idea]

I have the Sears butcher block. I am not terribly impressed w/ it. It is not very durable. It is a lot softer than I thought it would be.

 

[KenC]

It would depend on the wood type. See if they know what it is: hard maple or beech OK.

But, neither are 'butcher block', just narrow pieces of wood glued together with the grain horizontal. The only advantage over wider pieces is that it limits warpage.

Real butcher blocks have the grain vertical. And good ones aren't just glued, older ones have a dovetail milled into the faces to lock them together. Built that way so splinters aren't generated by cutting and chopping on the surface. Just a pet peeve of mine since real butcher blocks are so collectible and expensive.

 

[gc427]

The reviews on that Sears surface don't seem very good.

I have seen the IKEA ones and they seem pretty good quality.

Another option is Perfect Plank. They offer a variety of hardwoods and will build to your size needed. I think that their pricing is very reasonable as well.

http://perfectplank.com

 

[axl911]

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like I am going have to wait for the quality one from IKEA.

I also see online that the shipping weight for the IKEA countertop is TWICE as much as the butcher block from Sears. Makes sense that denser wood is harder and weights more.

 

[kngelv]

Take a look at Grizzly.com. I recently purchased one for my workbench build as shown in this thread . . . http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212302
Great price and miles better than Sears. I think they are better than the IKEA ones too.

James

 

[matty d]

I hunted a Sears Bamboo Butcher block at Searsoutlet.com about 2 years ago, and purchased it for $40. If I were to do it again, I would hunt a for a maple top. Bamboo has different properties and I think its a little higher maintenance than treated Maple. But Im not complaining by any means.

By the way, Sears does not offer their workbench tops in Bamboo anymore, last time I checked.

I cut the block to size, to fit my Gladiator Cabinets. Everything went well.

The thickness is 1.5 inches. I am happy with the price...which is all that mattered at the time.

Check searsoutlet.com to see if there are any in your area and maybe you'll get lucky like me.

Here are some pics of the project:

http://matthewsgarage.blogspot.com/2012/09/bamboo-top-for-rta-cab-20-plus-extra.html

Heres the link for "Craftsman Work Surface" at Sears outlet. Seems like there are 30 tops on sale throughout the country. Worth having a look:

http://www.searsoutlet.com/d/product_details.jsp?md=ct_md&cid=8293&pid=34882&mode=seeAll

 

[Duker]

Another source is Lumber Liquidators. They usually have Maple 8' x 25" x 1.5" tops for around $260 bucks that you can order but the stores usually have some dinged or damaged tops that are easy to fix. I bought a 12' one a few weeks back for a bench I am building for $150 that has a dinged edge that a quick saw cut will fix.

 

[jay8s]

Ikea all the way. I have them in the kitchen, and they have held up GREAT!

 

[dogmir]

I actually bought two of the ones linked from sears. Granted I got them at a severe discount as they were only $50 or so. Found they had three on searsoultet.com for a local store and I bought 2 and a co-worker bought 1. We are both happy campers. Finish is decent. I use one for woodworking assembly table so it doesn't see very much abuse but seems to be solid. The other is still in the box waiting for a project unknown.

 

[76cruiser]

If you have a menards close, they have a decent price on an 8' x25" at $159.

http://www.menards.com/main/home-de...ck-top-25-wide-x-96-long/p-1967694-c-3629.htm

 

[GCncsuHD]

I picked up one of the 6' long Ikea countertops a while back for $70. It was in the clearance area, I couldn't find anything wrong with it, took it home, cut a 48" section out as a countertop in the laundry room, then made a 24x24 cutting board for the kitchen out of the rest. I'm pretty happy with it for the price. Beware though, Ikea now also sells a laminate "butcher block" look countertop.

 

[axl911]

Yeah...tricky of IKEA to sell the laminate countertop and priced it not much cheaper than the solid one.

Dang it...I keep on checking the availbility of the contertop, and they keep on pushing out the available date.

Meanwhile, Sears continue to add more discounts to theirs. What am I to do????

 

[dogmir]

Also if you have a Woodcraft locally they have a sale on Maple butcherblock tops for workbenches.
http://www.woodcraft.com/category/2005134/laminated-bench-tops.aspx?refcode=13IN10RL&utm_source=bm23&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Image+-+Save+30%25+on+Laminated+Maple+Benchtops&utm_content=Laminated+Tops+10-3&utm_campaign=10%2F03%2F2013

 

[Colin Len]

Bringing this one back from the dead since I'm having this exact dilemma. Years ago I saw the Ikea counters here and made a mental note. Yesterday I actually looked into them more and realized that they were not solid all the way through as I assumed but instead they're a 9/64" layer of solid wood on top with a particle board bottom. (as was mentioned in the couple posts above)

Upon just looking again now I'm seeing that I missed another option. Looks like Ikea also sells 1.125" thick solid birch tops. Does anyone have any insight on how these new, thinner, tops compare to the Sears tops? Reading the reviews on the Sears tops it seems the consensus is that they are made from rubbertree wood.

 

[admactanium]

I just installed 3 of the Oak Ikea slabs in our playroom. I need to join them and then sand down the seams. Other than the fact that the thickness is slightly different from piece to piece, maybe 1/16", they're great. They have Birch and Oak options. I've bought both in the past but these Oak ones are very sturdy and very heavy (ask my toe).

You have to read the Ikea descriptions carefully as the laminate ones look the same from the catalog pictures but one of them does actually say solid wood.

 

[My Old Tools]

Ikea has a bunch of different counter tops. Yes, they have some that are particle board with a veneer overlay, but they do have others that are solid. I bought 3 of the 8' beech tops for the shop. I put two of them on top of Steevo benches that I built, the other is on a wooden cabinet. I oiled them with Tried n True varnish oil top and bottom. They did not stay perfectly flat until fastened down, but otherwise have been just about perfect. They are quite heavy to handle.

 

[k-os]

I'm used the beech countertop from Ikea for my computer desk that I made and my coffee and end tables I made. I could definitely see it working well as a workbench top. They have a 28" deep version and I think they still have a 35" deep version.

 

[exmaxima1]

I have the Sears butcher block. I am not terribly impressed w/ it. It is not very durable. It is a lot softer than I thought it would be.

According to the above link for the Sears top, the weight is only 35 lbs. The dimensions equate to 1.5 Ft3, so only softer woods like Bamboo, Cedar, etc are that low of density. A real maple top would weigh twice as much.

 

[kngelv]

I got a maple top from Grizzly. Reasonably priced an much better than either Sears or Ikea.

James

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Sol...0-Deep-x-1-3-4-Thick/G9914?utm_campaign=zPage

 

[csp]

Upon just looking again now I'm seeing that I missed another option. Looks like Ikea also sells 1.125" thick solid birch tops.

They have birch, beech and oak at a minimum. I think there are a couple other species as well.

 

[Trey T]

^that's a better deal than HD one w/ same spec.

 

[Colin Len]

According to the above link for the Sears top, the weight is only 35 lbs. The dimensions equate to 1.5 Ft3, so only softer woods like Bamboo, Cedar, etc are that low of density. A real maple top would weigh twice as much.

According to the reviews I read on the website people said that it was rubbertree (Hevea).

I got a maple top from Grizzly. Reasonably priced an much better than either Sears or Ikea.

I saw those as well but even before shipping they are out of my budget.

They have birch, beech and oak at a minimum. I think there are a couple other species as well.

That is all they offer. I actually just went by Ikea today since I was in the area for work. They had 3 different options for solid, however the Beech has been discontinued as of 8/1/16 and limited to what each store already had in stock before it sells out. So that must be why I was only able to find Oak and Birch on their website.




And here's a comparison of the solid vs veneer

I'm used the beech countertop from Ikea for my computer desk that I made and my coffee and end tables I made. I could definitely see it working well as a workbench top. They have a 28" deep version and I think they still have a 35" deep version.

Any chance you have links to those other deeper wider versions? I couldn't find them anywhere and only saw the 25" versions.

 

[My Old Tools]

That's a shame. Beech was the best of the bunch.

 

[k-os]

Any chance you have links to those other deeper wider versions? I couldn't find them anywhere and only saw the 25" versions.

I can't seem to find it anymore, however they do have this 29.5" deep "table top". Only 61" long though.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50106773/