Finish for Cutting Boards?
MedlinT
finish. Is a vegetable oil good enough or will it go rancid? Is Behlen's
salad bowl finish best? Is it durable enough? If not, what is the best and
safest finish for cutting food on? Also, how often will the finish have to
be re-applied?
Thanks,
Tim Medlin
Paul Houtz
: I am planning on building several cutting boards soon and I need a good
Never use vegetable oil for a cutting board. It will eventually go rancid
and affect the taste of everything cut on the board.
I know that categorical imperatives are dangerous on the net, but I
do believe there is a correct answer to this one, and even Chris Minick
recently got it wrong in Fine Woodworking.
The best "finish" for a real cutting board that is going to cut real
food is either mineral oil or pure tung oil, and I can vouch personally
for mineral oil.
I made a nice cutting board from quarter sawn maple strips. I applied
4 coats of mineral oil over a period of 7 days. I was especially careful
to really soak up the end grain with each coat, and I applied each coat
by slopping the mineral oil on really thick, letting it sit for a couple
of hours, and then wiping off the excess and letting it dry a day or so.
That was probably excessive.
However, the board looks great now, nearly a year later. It is used
daily for cutting everything. It has some knife marks, but no stains.
After cleaning it a couple of times, the wood on the surface seems to
loose its finish, but in fact, most of the surface seems still to be
getting protection.
It is about ready to be scraped down and have new oil applied.
There is no clear finish that will stand constant exposure to water
like this and still offer the benefits of a wood cutting board. Oil
finishes are the only way to go, and I believe the best is mineral oil.
--
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jear...@ivory.trentu.ca
>I am planning on building several cutting boards soon and I need a good
>finish. Is a vegetable oil good enough or will it go rancid? Is Behlen's
>salad bowl finish best? Is it durable enough? If not, what is the best and
>safest finish for cutting food on? Also, how often will the finish have to
>be re-applied?
> Tim Medlin
Don't use veg oil...... use mineral oil which you can buy at a drug store
(I think it's called castor oil) It is safe and won't oxidize. I sink my
"eatable projects" like salad bowls and cutting boards overnight and then
wipe them off. It's a trick I learned while on a lathe-course with Russ
Zimmerman years ago. (I remember that his cat got into the oil.... it had
"the runs" for days!)
Don Lipinski
> I am planning on building several cutting boards soon and I need a good
> finish. Is a vegetable oil good enough or will it go rancid? Is Behlen's
> salad bowl finish best? Is it durable enough? If not, what is the best and
> safest finish for cutting food on? Also, how often will the finish have to
> be re-applied?
> Thanks,
> Tim Medlin
>
>>>>
Back in Industrial Arts Class in Jr. High, The shop instructor had us all use
Bee's Wax on the Cutting boards we made from Maple. I have had that
cutting board now for 18 years and it looks & works great. I have only applied
the Bees wax 4 times. It is easy to apply, I pop the cutting board in the oven
to get warm and then rub it down with the bees wax repeating the oven
process untill it is well coated. Rub down the excess wax with a cloth. It
does the job. I have been using this board every day for years, and it is still
holding up great.
Thanks to the Industrial Arts class and the Instructor, Mr. Moon.
Good Luck, Don Lipinski
Steve Cobb
writes:
|> I am planning on building several cutting boards soon and I need a
|> good
|> finish. Is a vegetable oil good enough or will it go rancid? Is
|> Behlen's
|> salad bowl finish best? Is it durable enough? If not, what is the
|> best and
|> safest finish for cutting food on? Also, how often will the finish
|> have to
|> be re-applied?
|> Thanks,
|> Tim
|> Medlin
On the one and only cutting board I ever built, I melted parafin wax
into the end grain using a waxing iron. Prior to that treatment,
the ends would absorb water and it was starting to split. I did
that treatment only 1 time, and subsequently used the cutting
board for about 12 years (still have the board.)
--
Sfc
Gary Dyrkacz
>From: jear...@ivory.trentu.ca
>Subject: Re: Finish for Cutting Boards?
>Date: Mon, 24 Jul 1995 17:36:14 GMT
>In article <3uv12l$i...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, med...@aol.com (MedlinT) writes:
>>I am planning on building several cutting boards soon and I need a good
>>finish. Is a vegetable oil good enough or will it go rancid? Is Behlen's
>>salad bowl finish best? Is it durable enough? If not, what is the best and
>>safest finish for cutting food on? Also, how often will the finish have to
>>be re-applied?
>> Thanks,
>> Tim Medlin
>Don't use veg oil...... use mineral oil which you can buy at a drug store
>(I think it's called castor oil) It is safe and won't oxidize. I sink my
>"eatable projects" like salad bowls and cutting boards overnight and then
>wipe them off. It's a trick I learned while on a lathe-course with Russ
>Zimmerman years ago. (I remember that his cat got into the oil.... it had
>"the runs" for days!)
Mineral oil is not the same as castor oil. The latter is derived from the
castor bean, the former is derived from petroleum.
Gary
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
Gary Dyrkacz Hinsdale, Illinois
dyr...@mcs.com
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
Jeff Gorman
~ I am planning on building several cutting boards soon and I need a good
~ finish. Is a vegetable oil good enough or will it go rancid?
What is the point of finishing cutting boards? The surface is
bound to get damaged. We have used an untreated English Scyamore
board for 38 years without any stomach upsets. Normally it
is just wiped or scrubbed with a nylon brush, but from time to
time the surface is cleaned with a scouring pad having an
abrasive mesh on one side and foam-backed abrasive on the other.
Of course, finishing for good appearance might be necessary if
they are to look good on a sales counter.
--
Jeff Gorman - West Yorkshire
je...@millard.demon.co.uk
Gary Straub
an inert, food safe product. Tung oil is a drying oil and in it's raw
form is safe to eat, as are linseed oil and walnut oil. The fact that
they dry makes them slightly more protective of the wood which is the
only reason to put any type of finish on a cutting board. I believe the
very best method is the one described by another poster which I am sorry
to have forgotten his name. That is to use bees wax. It will give the
best protection and is completly food safe.
IMHO
Gary Straub
gst...@mail.coin.missouri.edu
Columbia, MO
Andy Dingley
>Don't use veg oil...... use mineral oil which you can buy at a drug store
>(I think it's called castor oil)
This is strange. Paul Houtz warns us off vegetable oil, but not tung
nut oil and jearnshaw (sorry, can't read your real name) also warns us
off vegetable oil but recommends oil pressed from castor beans.
Obviously some vegetable oils go rancid, but others are less likely
to do so. Can we point the finger at any that definitely should be
avoided, and others (as I believe tung oil will) which don't go
rancid?
Andy Dingley din...@codesmth.demon.co.uk
If all it takes is an infinite number of monkeys with typewriters,
how come AOL haven't written any Shakespeare yet ?
James Foster x2912
|> jear...@ivory.trentu.ca wrote:
|>
|> >Don't use veg oil...... use mineral oil which you can buy at a drug store
|> >(I think it's called castor oil)
|>
|> This is strange. Paul Houtz warns us off vegetable oil, but not tung
|> nut oil and jearnshaw (sorry, can't read your real name) also warns us
|>
|> off vegetable oil but recommends oil pressed from castor beans.
|>
|> Obviously some vegetable oils go rancid, but others are less likely
|> to do so. Can we point the finger at any that definitely should be
|> avoided, and others (as I believe tung oil will) which don't go
|> rancid?
|>
Isn't this in the FAQ _yet_? B^)
First off, jearnshaw recommended mineral oil and then said that he/she
thought it was the same as castor oil. It's not. We can divide our oils
into three main categories for purposes of cutting boards.
1.) Hardening organic extract oils (tung and walnut are two examples)
2.) Non hardening organic extract oils (corn, safflower, peanut, and most others)
3.) Non organic extract oils (mineral oils)
The #1 oils harden quickly. They can form a built up finish on the boards
if a number of coats are applied. I guess I'd put Behlen's Salad Bowl finish
in with this group though I don't know its composition (anybody?).
The #2 oils will go rancid. They may take varying amounts of time, but
they will.
Mineral oil does not harden. It is basically inert. In its USP form it's
sold as an oral laxitive so it's can be considered safe.
For a cutting board you want either #1 or #3. A hardening oil can give
a finish that will chip as you cut into it. Me, I use mineral oil.
A wax finish is a good alternative. Beeswax or parrafin would be good
choices as long as they're free from adulteration. The poster who recommended
heating the boards in a warm oven and melting the wax on described a
good way to do it. You can also use an iron or hot air gun. The end grain
is the most important area to seal well. Just IMHO, YMMV, etc.
Ken Nield
>
> The best "finish" for a real cutting board that is going to cut real
> food is either mineral oil or pure tung oil, and I can vouch personally
> for mineral oil.
I plan to build some cutting boards and have a question about these finishes:
I understand that wood will kill bacteria (which makes it a nice cutting board
material). Do any of these finishes stop this process?
Ken Nield
Russell Kay
>Don't use veg oil...... use mineral oil which you can buy at a drug store
Mineral oil is definitely *not* castor oil, which comes from the castor
bean. I don't know if it still has its emetic effects if it were to dry on
a wood surface, but if it did, then using castor oil on a cutting board
would be a particularly cruel trick for someone you really didn't like!
Mineral oil, from the drugstore, is called mineral oil.
========================================
Russell Kay, BYTE Magazine
Peterborough, NH 603-924-2591
============ russ...@bix.com ==========
Jon Parry
|> Isn't this in the FAQ _yet_? B^)
|>
|> First off, jearnshaw recommended mineral oil and then said that he/she
|> thought it was the same as castor oil. It's not. We can divide our oils
|> into three main categories for purposes of cutting boards.
|>
|> 1.) Hardening organic extract oils (tung and walnut are two examples)
|> 2.) Non hardening organic extract oils (corn, safflower, peanut, and
|> most others)
|> 3.) Non organic extract oils (mineral oils)
|>
|> The #1 oils harden quickly. They can form a built up finish on the
|> boards
|> if a number of coats are applied. I guess I'd put Behlen's Salad Bowl
|> finish
|> in with this group though I don't know its composition (anybody?).
|>
|> The #2 oils will go rancid. They may take varying amounts of time, but
|> they will.
|>
|> Mineral oil does not harden. It is basically inert. In its USP form
|> it's
|> sold as an oral laxitive so it's can be considered safe.
|>
|> For a cutting board you want either #1 or #3. A hardening oil can give
|> a finish that will chip as you cut into it. Me, I use mineral oil.
SNIP
I have heard of "Liquid Parafin" being used here in Europe to finish
cutting
blocks boards etc. I guess that comes under #3 as its used as an oral
laxative!
Jon.
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Johan Aucamp
>
>Mineral oil is definitely *not* castor oil, which comes from the castor
>bean. I don't know if it still has its emetic effects if it were to dry
on
>a wood surface, but if it did, then using castor oil on a cutting board
>would be a particularly cruel trick for someone you really didn't like!
>
>Mineral oil, from the drugstore, is called mineral oil.
Hi,
Castor oil was often referred to as "Blue bottle" because of the peculiar
colour of the bottles it was dispensed in a generation or so ago. It was
mainly used as a laxative and children hated it with a passion because of
its bad taste. Mineral oil obtainable from drugstores has a mild laxative
effect due to its lubricating properties. It is sometimes labelled
"liquid paraffin" depending on in which part of the world you are.
>
>Johan.
JLORCH
wooden kitchen utensils is an ancient formula combining beeswax and walnut
oil.
Heat a block of beeswax (available at sewing supply houses and some ww
catalogs) in the microwave on low power until liquid. Then add an equal
amount of walnut oil (available in the grommet section of many grocery
stores). If the oil is cool it may begin to solidify the wax. Re-heat
and stir thoroughly, then pour into a shallow, wide mouth container. The
result is approximately the consistency of toothpaste and is easily
applied with a rag. I like to use a 2" square of non-woven nylon pad on
the lathe were the friction of the rotating bowl heats the finish,
resulting in greater penetration. Over night the oil hardens and the next
day you can buff the wax to a low luster.
No finish will stand up to the abuse that cutting boards and chopping
bowls take. I give a small amount of finish in a baby food jar to my best
customers for periodic renewal.
luckhun...@gmail.com
Michael
> I am planning on building several cutting boards soon and I need a good
> salad bowl finish best? Is it durable enough? If not, what is the best and
> safest finish for cutting food on? Also, how often will the finish have to
> be re-applied?
> Thanks,
> Tim Medlin
Jack
> I bought both paraffin oil and castor oil, not knowing which one to use. I ended up using castor oil...do you think it is still safe to use?
>
wouldn't worry about it. It will wash off soon enough. No finish at
all is good, I have 40 year old boards that look great and never had a
finish applied.
If you want the board to look good (sales, gifts) then use mineral oil,
or what I would use is a mineral oil, bees wax mix that you can buy at
the borgs. You could make your own but one jar will last you forever
unless you are in the business of selling cutting boards.
--
Jack
Add Life to your Days not Days to your Life.
http://jbstein.com
Jack
(yellow glue) and they are still fine. You don't need anything special,
use whatever woodworking glue you use for everything else. 40 years ago
I figured if they ever come apart, I can re-glue them, (after all, I am
a woodworker) Never had one come apart, so you should be good for at
least 40 years.
hub...@ccanoemail.ca
>> I am planning on building several cutting boards soon and I need a good
>> finish. Is a vegetable oil good enough or will it go rancid? Is Behlen's
>> salad bowl finish best? Is it durable enough? If not, what is the best and
>> safest finish for cutting food on? Also, how often will the finish have to
>> be re-applied?
>> Thanks,
>> Tim Medlin
>
>What kind of glue is best for cutting boards? I have Titebond II but it looks like I might need III.
For finishing, read the " Inst " and " Tech " links here :
http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=20049&cat=1,190,42942
For glue characteristics, read the " Inst " link here :
http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=51099&cat=1,110,42965&ap=1
John T.