Opinions please ( Finishing )

[Wood spinner]

Hi , I am making a walnut salad bowl and need your opinions as to a sutable finish for the outside and inside ?

Thanks

[Paul Hannaby]

Mineral oil, vegetable oil or food safe boiled linseed oil.

[Les Symonds]

I'd say much the same as Paul, with one extra note of caution; some makes of "Boiled Linseed Oil" (BLO) are made by a chemical process, rather than in the traditional manner of boiling. It seems to me that some of the modern, chemical processes result in a BLO that is not food safe. My advice would be to check carefully with a manufacturer's safety data sheets, which should be readily available on line, to confirm the makes that are safe.....many of the cheap makes offered in DIY stores may be safe, but their data sheets do not state that they are. Personally, I wouldn't use one unless its data sheet specifically states that it's safe.
Les

[bodrighywood]

I use vegetable oils as they are commonly found in the kitchen for repenlishing. Don't use olive ol though as it goes rancid in time. Also a lot cheaper than the 'food safe oils' LOL
Pete

[Wood spinner]

OK thanks

Looks like veg oil it is then , Cheers

[JohnHewes]

Don’t make the mistake that I made.
Used some cooking oil from the kitchen on a babies rattle, then realised Is was ground nut oil - peanut allergy problems of course.
Stupid boy.
John

[Martin Lawrence]

  As it is a Walnut bowl, use Walnut oil nice and cheap from the supermarket.

Cheers Martin.

[John Plater]

I read somewhere that one ought only to use product which one would be happy to ingest directly. That basically brings it down to walnut oil.
ATB John

[Wood spinner]

I have not seen walnut oil in the shops ? maybe not looking properly ,
will investigate , Thanks

[John Plater]

All of the big name supermarkets mention it on their websites. Make sure that you buy cold pressed and not processed walnut oil. The latter is made as a finish for wood such as gun stocks and has been extracted chemically. Cold pressed is what it says and is the stuff for human consumption. I have never used either but have read of woodturners that do.
ATB John

[Percy]

I really like walnut oil as a finish (couple of quid for a bottle from Waitrose, i think), but as mentioned above, you need to check that it's ok for your customer as it could cause problems for those with nut allergies.
I also use culinary linseed oil a lot -  from www.thelinseedfarm.co.uk - it's lovely stuff and not bad in a salad dressing either. This is by far the best oil I have found for finishing food bowls
To my knowledge, these are the only easily found culinary oils that will 'go off' and harden within a few days. Most other common food grade oils will stay liquid and eventually go rancid.

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Something else you can use is liquid paraffin, the stuff you get from the chemist to help you "go" if you know what I mean It does not shine but soaks in a protects.

[Wood spinner]

Just read this on the web
There are two types of walnut oil commercially available: cold pressed and refined.[citation needed] Cold pressed walnut oil is typically more expensive due to the loss of a higher percentage of the oil. Refined walnut oil is expeller pressed and saturated with solvent to extract the highest percentage of oil available in the nut meat. The solvents are subsequently eliminated by heating the mixture to around 400 °F (200 °C). Both methods produce food grade culinary oils. Walnut oil, like all nut, seed and vegetable oils will turn rancid when exposed to light, and oxygen.

[Les Symonds]

The problem is, that this has been written by a "Joe Public" person who probably has no more knowledge than the rest of us. Neither of the principal statements have any references as to their sources or the reliability of the information, despite having been on Wiki for 3 years. If the author was a knowledgeable, scientifically minded sort of person, then he or she would surely have supplied references/citations for the claims.

These are alarming statement....if they are true. It effectively claims that even linseed oil will go rancid!

Les

[Percy]

I started using raw linseed oil after reading an article on oil finishes for turned bowls by Robin Wood. It's here if you want to read it -http://www.robin-wood.co.uk/wood-craft-blog/2009/12/14/what-is-the-best-oil-for-treating-wood/
It gives by far the best oil finish of any culinary grade oil I have tried.