Woodwork People

[*crikey*mate*]

If I make a wooden platter or a bowl, what do I do to it to seal it and polish it etc to make it look nice and shiny and be able to use it to serve food in/on?

Do I use Beeswax?

[*crikey*mate*]

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@j*oono wrote:

But you said it was to serve food on Crikey.  Not a chopping board.  Where did chopping boards come into it? 

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dunno?

but apart from china plates etc, only ever used the plastic boards, glazed terracotta platters, china stuff and stainless steel, never used wood (cept for the butchers blocks) and certainly never had to cure one from scratch and even the wooden boards I have at home, have never oiled them.

On my wooden furniture, I use wood furniture polish, but as it has a big poison label on it - i joined the dots and went "hmmmm, best not use this to cure a bowl".

So perhaps we could get back to the topic of what I do to a piece of raw wood to prepare it for use with serving food?

[*crikey*mate*]

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@j*oono wrote:

I sent off one time for a little miniature huon pine cheese board when some cheese company was offering them.

It was untreated wood and it came with instructions to rub in some olive oil to help preserve it.

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Thank you, and how did it go? I've just bought a wooden cheese board (well 2, couldn't decide which size I wanted), haven't used it yet tho, just came on Friday.

[simone4010]

Hey Crikey

Do you happen to know what sort of timber it is, as some timers ie teak don't need oiling.  What sort of  food are you planning to use it for : wet or dry?  Remembering that wood is always porous.

But having said all that there is a product called Organoil (no rooode comments please), which is organic.  There Danish oil is safe for food. 

Simone

[j*oono]

It worked out well.  

[*crikey*mate*]

I Think it's teak, That's what the man said it was, but it doesn't look like my teak furniture - I do know it is not pine or treated pine.

Spose I need to be able to use it for wet and dry foods, I'm not looking for just a bread basket kind of thing.

When I saw this particular platter being used iot had all sorts of crudities and amuse bouche etc presented on it - so chips and dips and oils and vinegars etc and wet mixes on croutons, olives, sundried tomatoes, sausage etc just a mixture of stuff and dif breads and dipping things like lavosh, cheese twists etc.

It just looked great, and I want one LOL

Spoiler

hmmmm, is organoil anything like wood wax? *smirk*

[*crikey*mate*]

The vision is kind of like this, but way bigger and with more dips and divisions and more highs and lows, but this is the closest I have seen since

[catsnknots]

So I gather you need one to be repellant of liquids and food odours.... I just did a google search for food safe stain and came up with these..... That one in that picture you have just posted looks like Tung oil or raw linseed oil. 

Pure tung oil. Extracted from the nut of the china wood tree. Used as a base in many blended finishes. Available from catalogs and hardware stores. Difficult to apply, requires many coats, good water-resistance.

Raw linseed oil.Pressed from flax seeds. Not to be confused with boiled linseed, which contains metallic driers. Listed as a food additive by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Very long curing time, good looks, low water-resistance, frequent reapplication.

Mineral oil.Although derived from petroleum, it is colorless, odorless, tasteless and entirely inert. Sold as a laxative in drug stores and as a wood finish in hardware and kitchen-supply stores. Simple to apply, low waterresistance, frequent reapplication.

Walnut oil.Pressed from the nuts of the walnut tree. Sold as a salad oil in health food stores and in large grocery stores. Walnut oil dries and won't go rancid. Easy to apply, frequent reapplication.

Beeswax.The work of the honey bee. Can be mixed with an oil to create a better-smelling, slightly more waterrepellent finish. Sold in woodworking and turning catalogs.

Carnauba wax.Derived from the Brazilian palm tree. Harder than beeswax and more water-resistant. Can be used straight on woodenware as a light protective coating or a topcoat polish. Sold in woodworking and turning catalogs.

Shellac.A secretion from the lac bug. Harvested in India. Super blond shellac in flake form is the most waterresistant variety. A film-forming finish. Sold in woodworking catalogs and hardware and art supply stores.

[amber-eyed-girl]

Crikey, use beeswax or olive oil...then you know it is safe and you can reapply over time 

[poddster]

Now that i have seen what you have in mind, may i suggest that you go to a market where they sell wood turnings and chat to a wood turner.

The "bowl" that you want requires a special type of wood or at least wood cancer called a wood burl.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=wood+burl&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0-VlU8fqOYKzlQX324GYAg&ved...

The burls are quite expensive

That type of wood requires specialized tools and specialized skills to work with.

The grain in the burls does not follow any pattern and that is what makes then suited for bowls

[imastawka]

 poddster, she doesn't have a burl - she has a piece of teak.

The picture is of her 'vision' of what she wants to do with it   : - )