hello i am sharing with you how I built my butcher block counter tops. First we acquired the wood. since I have never made anything like this before I used cheap Douglass fir 2x4's. I then cut the wood into 1 inch sections long ways. I faced each piece of wood so the top would be smooth. then glued the pieces together using wood glue and clamps. I glued them 54 pieces at a time. then joined the 5 piece sections one at a time with glue and clamps. i found that i had to clamp the whole block to the table while clamping to prevent the ends arching up. when done gluing I sanded top with belt sander and 36 grit belt. then moved to 80 grit. then 150 grit with oscillating sander. I cut the ends to length using a circular saw. I am planning on staining and using a pour on counter top when done.