This Faux Butcher Block Countertop Looks Real but is a Third the Cost

Cut plywood, sand, apply glue

The plywood was too wide for the countertop depth we needed, which was great because it gave us extra scrap wood.

After cutting it down to the right size, we sanded it down until it was smooth. This took awhile, but was well worth it for the cost it saved.

Note: You only have to sand the top side of the top piece, don't take the time to sand the other sides since they won't be visible.

Then we applied a generous amount of glue to the top of the bottom piece.

Clamp pieces together, let glue dry

With the pieces being so large (23" x 96") we used six clamps - one in each quarter and two in the middle along the long sides.

We let it dry about 6 hours.

Stain, place on top of cabinets

We put a couple of construction screws from the top down into the cabinets in the very back corners – they’re hardly noticeable, but I might wood fill it and touch up the stain if it bothers us.

Other than that, we just wood glued down the countertop into place.

Apply edge banding

It’s basically a very thin veneer with dried glue on the back that you iron onto your surface.

The one I bought is 1.5” thick, which is a teeny bit thicker than our plywood sandwich, but it’s easily trimmed with a box cutter or edge trimmer.

First, hold up your edge banding along the countertop and cut the piece down to the length you’ll need with the box cutter. If you kind of score the top of the banding, it’ll snap off really clean.

Next, line up the edge banding with the top of your countertop and hold your hot iron over it for a few seconds. Keep moving along the surface, lining up the edge banding with the top and holding the iron over it for a few seconds so the glue behind melts.

Check seems

And that’s it! You’ve figured out how to fake a butcher block countertop and have probably spent between $50 and $100 instead of several hundreds for your project.

I’m not sure I’d use this method in our kitchen, but in something like a pantry, bar cart, buffet, coffee table, camper, etc. it’s the perfect budget solution.