Lucky you that was a great find. I would just use a 10% bleach solution on it then sand it if needed. We put heavy duty casters on my husbands shop table and its easy to do but it does bring the hieght up a few inchs. mMy butcher block island has casters as well and the first day I wanted them off because of the extra height (I am short) but now I cann,t imagine not having them they make the whole thing so handy I use it as a kichen cart as well.

Gorgeous! I'm sooo jealous. I want one for my kitchen, too.

Wood has natural enzymes/chemicals/somethingorother that keep it clean so I wouldn't be too worried about it. If anything, wipe it down with vinegar (a natural disinfectant).

yeah, I'd sand it down and then condition it.
Conditioning: mixture of wax (paraffin or bee) and mineral oil.

Noting the wood floors, I'd try some nice thick removable felt pads before putting wheels on it.

Thanks guys, actually that's the picture from when it was listed on Craigslist. One of our big kitchen remodel priorities was ripping out the wood floors (damaged from a fridge water leak) and we now have slate tiles. So it isn't going to slide around like it would on the wood floor. I'd like casters, and I know they need to be heavy duty, but I don't want big old honkin' ugly things, ya know? Is there such a thing as attractive casters?

The wood ones on this site look kind of nice: CoolCasters.com I would just make sure you got the ones with brakes on them.

If the BB was previously oiled, sanding it will be an awful job, with old oil clogging the sandpaper and creating a disgusting oily sawdust sludge. Is the BB surface thick enough for a thin top layer to be planed off? Then you could sand the fresh new wood surface and treat with the beeswax/mineral oil combo before you use it for the first time.

Congratulations on a wonderful find!

The best way I have found to clean butcher block is to use salt. Buy a bag of plain old table salt and coat the top of the block until all of the wood is covered in a thin layer of salt. Let this stand overnight (24 hrs would be even better), then wipe it away. The salt will absorb any accumulated fats and oils from the wood, leaving you with a bone-dry and very very clean surface. You will then need to oil it with mineral oil.

I wouldn't sand it or plane it, you want the block keep its used and worn look; it's more authentic. I also wouldn't use bleach on wood; wood is just too absorbent and the wood will still feel slimy. Bleach is not necessary to kill germs and bacteria, the salt will do that.

I've read that using plain salt is the traditional and time-honored cleaning method used by real buthers back in the day.

Well maydl, it's 13" thick so I'm guessing I could do that...lol. Thanks for the advice everyone! And the coolcasters site farmhousebound, if I add casters I will definitely get the ones with brakes. I can just picture my cat running and jumping onto this thing and have it go rolling through the kitchen! ACK! For now I'll see how I like it without for a while.

Thanks chapnc! I will definitely try that, what an easy way to get it clean. Kind of like putting kitty litter on oil spills in your garage, huh?

Robin (also in nc!)