How to make a butcher block concave?

[bchains]

Gentlemen, I have a cheap birch "side grain" butcher block table (roughly 2' x 4' surface area) as shown here:

http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/23030_PE107804_S5.JPG

I'd like to make concave on the surface similar to the Boos-style blocks. Not as extreme as these examples, but in the same style:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/ori...87b1f0.jpg

http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/images...4a707b.jpg

Question: what is the best way to make this thing concave? I was planning to do most of the material removal with a hand plane, then clean up and finish with a random orbital sander. But I don't have much wood working experience. 

Thank you for your advice. 

Bryan

[TomFromStLouis]

Bench planes have flat bottoms and thus are best at flat or convex. Dishing out birch should not be too difficult. You could use 40 grit in your sander, an angle grinder with some wood eating attachment, a travisher or scorp like they use for chair seats, or a power router with a straight bit extended just 1/16" or go at it with a gouge. Give yourself some way to gauge progress and dive in.

[petertay15]

The dished in butcher blocks I have seen got that way after 50 years of meat cutting. Not too early to start.

[Cooler]

The dished in butcher blocks I have seen got that way after 50 years of meat cutting. Not too early to start.

I agree.  If you try to replicate it, it will probably look phony.  Use it a lot and pass it along to your grandkids.  Eventually it will become dished.

[Wipedout]

Id use a grinder with a king arthur holey galahad disc  followed up with the ros.  practice with the disc on some scrap first to get the hang of it.

http://katools.com/holy-galahad-galahad-cg/

if the item is the ikea one, however, you don't have the thickness that the samples show and I hope that they are assembled well enough to hold up to shaping. So be careful and be prepared for failure.  I would try it just knowing you may sendup with failure

[Bill Holt]

First:  Welcome to the forum.

Since you stated you did not have a lot of experience and you were not looking for a deep concave surface, try a belt sander with coarse belt and follow with the ROS.

[rlnguy]

I'd give it a quick once over with a metal detector before doing anything.
Some years ago, I ran a piece of butcher block through my TS, to make it smaller-and hit several steel cleats, embedded when the BB was made.
They were sharp, I guess, maybe to hold things in alignment, when it was glued up.
tore several teeth off the blade, luckily, it didn't throw anything back at me.
I bought a metal detector the next day.
I've been very cautious with BB since.

[Cooler]

I saw a TV show with the installer working with a end grain butcher block counter.  The cut ends revealed that the interior of the counter was made from MDF of similar material.  There was about 3/16" of end grain above the MDF.  

So make sure that IKEA's is solid wood.

[Splinter Puller]

I would use a router.  Install a long stiff guide fail with a shallow angle where the bit protrudes. The guide would rest on straight edges on each end of the butcher block.  As the guide rail is moved back and fourth the angle caused the bit to deepen at the middle.  The guide rail would have to extend from the bit each way a distance greater then the length of the table.

Similar concept to pattern makers coring plane but with a shallower angle.



http://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-...-box-plane

follow the concept in the article but use a router and a very shallow angle instead of a right angle.

[Cooler]

Take some 1/8" thick masonite and cut it to the same size as the table top.

Make 8 to pieces.  In each piece cut a circle.  The smallest circle about 6" in diameter with each additional circle about 1/2" larger in diameter.

Starting with the smallest circle attach it to the top of the table and rout out the center to the desired depth.  Remove it and replace it with the next larger circle.  Reduce the depth of cut incrementally.

After you do this with all the boards you will have a rough shape made up steps equal to your incremental adjustments.

Take a random orbital sander and blend in all the cuts.  If your increments are 1/16" you will end up with a 3/4" dome effect.  The sanding will take some time to do however.