Using mineral oil on turned items

[JonathanF1968]

I'm planning on turning a coffee measure, ice cream scoop, and razor handle, and finishing with mineral oil and then beeswax. Basically, keeping them food safe.

Should I finish these off the lathe?

I'm curious how many coats of the oil I should do and how long to let it dry between coats. My experience finishing turned items is limited to friction-polish systems (such as sold by Woodturningz), where you do a series of wipe on/wipe off pairings essentially immediately without letting it dry first.

Would it make sense to really saturate the wood with the first coat, let it dry for, say, a day, and then sand it, and after that do a series of lighter coats of mineral oil?

A more general question: how to determine how many coats to use by looking at the workpiece. I'd imagine that different types of wood would require different numbers of coats. How do you know when you've done enough, other than following folk wisdom/old wives tales? What does "enough" look like?

Note: I keep bees, and would like to use my own beeswax, just to keep it in the family. I understand that carnuba wax would be more durable. What would you think of a couple coats of beeswax followed by a final one of carnuba?

 

[Charlie_W]

Hi Jonathon, for my turned stirring spatulas, carved spoons, etc, I use a mineral oil / Beeswax finish. I do this off the lathe. The recipe came from a Woodturning friend.
First coat or two: wipe on a wet coat of straight mineral oil and let it set for 10 minutes, then wipe it off. Later or next day, do the same....wipe on, 10 minutes, wipe it off.
Final coat:mineral oil/ Beeswax mix. Wipe it on, wait 10 minutes...wipe it off and allow to dry. Repeat if you like.

The Mix: Wifey took her microplane and shaved off some Beeswax chips, melted them in the microwave. Then stirred the Beeswax into the mineral oil. It will stay suspended in this form and not separate. I believe the mix was 80/20 or 75/25 mineral oil to wax. The blend will stay good in a container and will not go rancid.
Another benefit is there is no odor from the oil/ wax as there is with some popular oils.

Maintenance: wipe on another coat of the mix when needed.
Good luck.

 

[JonathanF1968]

Thanks Charlie! For your "mix" of beeswax and mineral oil, is it like a hard paste or more liquid? I once made something like this with olive oil. Not sure if that goes rancid or not.... I'll have to track down whatever it was that I made with it.

 

[Charlie_W]

Thanks Charlie! For your "mix" of beeswax and mineral oil, is it like a hard paste or more liquid? I once made something like this with olive oil. Not sure if that goes rancid or not.... I'll have to track down whatever it was that I made with it.

It stays in a thick liquid form.....depends on the mix.

 

[donstephan]

Jonathon

Mineral oil is a petroleum distillate, and never dries or cures. There's nothing wrong with that, except that each time the wood is washed with a bit of dish soap some more of the mineral oil is removed. After about 6 such washings the surface of the wood might feel a bit rough, suggesting it is time to apply more mineral oil. I don't know how a mineral oil and beeswax mix would behave, but beeswax is relatively soft and therefore will wear off with use.

If making these items for yourself just be aware of the need to wipe with mineral oil after several washings. If making these items for a customer you might want to consider a more durable finish that won't require regular maintenance. I have no experience with it, but Wood Turner's Finish by General Finishes sounds relatively easy to use.

 

[Wildman]

Been posting this article couple times a year. See nothing wrong with mineral oil by itself or mineral oil & wax finish.

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2006/08/01/food-safe-finishes

Some items like rolling pins, coffee spoons or scoops don't put any finish on them.

Beauty of mineral oil is easy to repair when needed. When sell mixing bowls and serving bowls include a bottle of the stuff. Used the laxitive mineral oil and not baby oil or industrial mineral oil.

Plenty of food safe finishes sold today need a product material safety data sheet (MSDS) or safety data sheet (SDS) to list hazardous chemicals.

Problem with more durable finishes, not easy to repair by people you give or sell too! Plus those pesty chemicals your not sure of health hazards.

 

[wolf creek knives]

Hi Jonathon, for my turned stirring spatulas, carved spoons, etc, I use a mineral oil / Beeswax finish. I do this off the lathe. The recipe came from a Woodturning friend.
First coat or two: wipe on a wet coat of straight mineral oil and let it set for 10 minutes, then wipe it off. Later or next day, do the same....wipe on, 10 minutes, wipe it off.
Final coat:mineral oil/ Beeswax mix. Wipe it on, wait 10 minutes...wipe it off and allow to dry. Repeat if you like.

The Mix: Wifey took her microplane and shaved off some Beeswax chips, melted them in the microwave. Then stirred the Beeswax into the mineral oil. It will stay suspended in this form and not separate. I believe the mix was 80/20 or 75/25 mineral oil to wax. The blend will stay good in a container and will not go rancid.
Another benefit is there is no odor from the oil/ wax as there is with some popular oils.

Maintenance: wipe on another coat of the mix when needed.
Good luck.

Hi Charlie. Any idea what would happen if you applied this mixture on your lathe with a flannel cloth? I'm looking for a food safe product and this sounds good but...can it be applied while on the lathe?

 

[Charlie_W]

Hi Jonathon, for my turned stirring spatulas, carved spoons, etc, I use a mineral oil / Beeswax finish. I do this off the lathe. The recipe came from a Woodturning friend.
First coat or two: wipe on a wet coat of straight mineral oil and let it set for 10 minutes, then wipe it off. Later or next day, do the same....wipe on, 10 minutes, wipe it off.
Final coat:mineral oil/ Beeswax mix. Wipe it on, wait 10 minutes...wipe it off and allow to dry. Repeat if you like.

The Mix: Wifey took her microplane and shaved off some Beeswax chips, melted them in the microwave. Then stirred the Beeswax into the mineral oil. It will stay suspended in this form and not separate. I believe the mix was 80/20 or 75/25 mineral oil to wax. The blend will stay good in a container and will not go rancid.
Another benefit is there is no odor from the oil/ wax as there is with some popular oils.

Maintenance: wipe on another coat of the mix when needed.
Good luck.

Hi Charlie. Any idea what would happen if you applied this mixture on your lathe with a flannel cloth? I'm looking for a food safe product and this sounds good but...can it be applied while on the lathe?

I would assume one could apply this while on the lathe but I am not aware of a benefit. Leaving it to soak in means you can't be turning something else at the same time. Also you may need to coat the area being held on the lathe.
I don't know if applying with the lathe running and trying to generate heat (as in a friction finish) would be helpful or not.
When you say flannel, I would use a very small patch which couldn't be caught up in the turning. A paper towel might be the better choice if applying while turning.

 

[wolf creek knives]

Hi Jonathon, for my turned stirring spatulas, carved spoons, etc, I use a mineral oil / Beeswax finish. I do this off the lathe. The recipe came from a Woodturning friend.
First coat or two: wipe on a wet coat of straight mineral oil and let it set for 10 minutes, then wipe it off. Later or next day, do the same....wipe on, 10 minutes, wipe it off.
Final coat:mineral oil/ Beeswax mix. Wipe it on, wait 10 minutes...wipe it off and allow to dry. Repeat if you like.

The Mix: Wifey took her microplane and shaved off some Beeswax chips, melted them in the microwave. Then stirred the Beeswax into the mineral oil. It will stay suspended in this form and not separate. I believe the mix was 80/20 or 75/25 mineral oil to wax. The blend will stay good in a container and will not go rancid.
Another benefit is there is no odor from the oil/ wax as there is with some popular oils.

Maintenance: wipe on another coat of the mix when needed.
Good luck.

Hi Charlie. Any idea what would happen if you applied this mixture on your lathe with a flannel cloth? I'm looking for a food safe product and this sounds good but...can it be applied while on the lathe?

I would assume one could apply this while on the lathe but I am not aware of a benefit. Leaving it to soak in means you can't be turning something else at the same time. Also you may need to coat the area being held on the lathe.
I don't know if applying with the lathe running and trying to generate heat (as in a friction finish) would be helpful or not.
When you say flannel, I would use a very small patch which couldn't be caught up in the turning. A paper towel might be the better choice if applying while turning.

Got it and thank you. By flannel I mean a very small piece. I use flannel when I use Aussie Oil but I'm very stingy on how much I use. I've seen what catching a piece of material can do to a turner.

 

[Curly]

Some of the members of the turning club here us mineral oil but not as a finish. They use it to keep the dust down while sanding. I haven't tried it myself so I can't vouch for its effectiveness in that roll.

 

[JonathanF1968]

Been posting this article couple times a year. See nothing wrong with mineral oil by itself or mineral oil & wax finish.

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2006/08/01/food-safe-finishes

I actually did see that on another post and read it! Thanks for posting it then, and also now. It's a really good article.

I've seen others complain about beeswax as a finish, compared to carnuba, because it is soft. But they are probably not on a first name basis with as many bees as I am....

I'm trying to get to a point where I understand what all these things are doing, rather than just following recipes blindly. So, one thing I don't get yet is how to know when there are enough coats of something.

 

[Wildman]

You have to separate items you want food safe which can go unfinished or would benefit from some finishing like mineral oil or oil & wax. A coffee scoop completely of wood could go either way. Kitchen utensiles same thing. Depening upon shape of the items finish off lathe.

Kits like, coffee scoop, ice cream scoop & razor handles would benefit with more durable finish. Would use either wipe on oil poly or regular oil poly. Could also use a water base products. Finishing could be done on or off the lathe.

 

[gtriever]

Bill, thanks for the link you posted. That's been bookmarked for future reference.

 

[nativewooder]

Mineral Oil is a petroleum based product. I apologize if this seems harsh, but since when does using cheap products make turnings food-safe?:redface:

 

[Wildman]

Barry don't find you post harsh at all!

Johathan Binzen pretty much explains why in his complete article. That complete article no longer available unless become a member.

https://www.finewoodworking.com/1998/04/01/which-finishes-are-food-safe

Already said mineral oil a petroleum product and non drying. Well it will dry to the touch and mineral oil (laxative) will not go rancid!

Bob Stockdale a bowl turning from San Fransico Bay sold to department stores in the area used to soak his bowls in container of mineral oil. When bowls stopped absorbing MO set them on rack so excess MO dripped back into container for short period of time before wiping & buffing. Made a living that way, until found collectors like exotic wood bowls and paid more for them.

When first got into wood turning MO was the finish of choice due cost of it and not going rancid and owners could reapply as needed. Back then you strive to get your bowls into galleries or museums to bring in the big dollars. Now a days local or national shows & personal web sites can help you bring in big bucks.

Binzen does discuss drying oils, linseed, tung, walnut oils. Would not recommend pure linseed oil or even stand oil. Tung oil will offer more protection if enough coats applied but just take too long to dry before recoating. Thinning with mineral spirits or citrus oil will aide in penetration & drying but still little long. Walnut oil comes from the salad oil industry and if stick with Dr.'s and Mahoney's will work just fine.