Carpentry and Woodworking - Finishing new butcher block

Am installing a length of new butcherblock that will be used as a table top/bar surface on an island. Know about mineral oil finishes for butcher block, but want to finish with polyurethane for max protection and easy cleaning. Will splitting occur if polyu. is used? Water- or oil-based? Will the wood darken in color over time if water-based is used? :confused:

Polyuethane should not cause the wood to split. A few coats of polyurethane will build a nice, thick film that should provide lots of durability. For repairability, tung oil is hard to beat.

Oil-based polyurethane will yellow somewhat and has an amber cast to it, by its very nature. Water-based polyurethane does not yellow, but tends to look somewhat cold if the film is built thickly enough. You can add an amber tint to water-based polyurethane to give it a warmer feeling.

How much the wood darkens over time depends upon the wood and its exposure to light. Cherry, oak, and pine darken over time from exposure to light, for example. Hard maple and birch tend to be pretty stable in color.

Hope this helps.

I think it is not recommended to use poly with food-contanct butcher blocks.

If it's not going to be used to cut on, I think you can.
Here the DoItYourself link for butcher block counters...

http://doityourself.com/wood/restorebutcherblock.htm (http://http://doityourself.com/wood/restorebutcherblock.htm)

Don't know very much about tung oil, so will go with oil-base polyu as it won't be used for food prep. Thanks for your replies.