Hello everyone.
I’m very new to this forum as well as a novice woodworker so I hope you can all be a patient with me, and help me out.
I’ve made a nice breadboard recently and thought it was done and that I did a fairly good job. But I’ve run into an issue. We used it the other night and when I wiped it off with a damp cloth to clean it, I seemed to have raised the grain. This surprised me as I thought I finished it appropriately.
The wood was prepaired by jointing the surface, followed by light scraping. The main wood used was curly maple, with a decorative edge of ebony and cherry. Both the maple and cherry are showing signs of raised grain.
I coated the finished breadboard with 2 coats of mineral oil that I put on with a clean rag. This I thought was enough to seal the wood and prevent water from getting to the wood.
So my quesiton now is, why is the grain raised, how could I stop it from happening in the future (I’m planning on giving some of these away for gifts and don’t want this to happen again), and what is the best way to fix this breadboard.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Douglas Colman
Replies
try wiping it down with a wet cloth before applying the mineral oil, let it dry then lightly sand and apply the mineral oil.
MrColman ,
Try cleaning what oil is on the board off and sand till the raised grain is smooth , then with a mixture of paraffin wax melted into some mineral oil apply a liberal coat on all sides and edges . Let the mixture stand a bit and absorb into the wood , then wipe off the excess . Let it dry a day or so before using. It could be that the mineral oil coating was too thin or had not penetrated deep or long enough . I usually use a small soup can with the right amount to coat what I am working on then add a table spoon or so of paraffin wax , the formula is not an exact science , you can't go wrong .In this case more is better then less .Bee's wax is also rated as a good coating.
good luck dusty
notDusty-I wonder if just an mineral oil or mineral oil and wax finish will protect your project sufficiently for exposure to moisture, abrasion etc.You might consider using a salad bowl finish (Behlen's, General Finishes) which develop more of a film than "in the wood" finishes. I've used it on some little pieces and it's wipe-on easy. I recall reading on the can about reducing headspace in the container or using finish preserve (Bloxygen) to keep the finish from hardening in the can so it must have some varnish resins mixed in proportion with oil.Another option might be walnut oil (Mahoney's). I am neither a scientist nor a finishing guru, but I think some oils are supposted to react with oxygen as they dry to form a finish that is more protective than mineral oil.
The point of using mineral oil(and a lot of penetration) is to keep moisture/food based liquids from getting into the wood and becoming rancid. This is also the reason for not using vegetable oil. Using a finish that hardens and leaves a film doesn't quite do it because the knife can break the coating and juices can get into the wood. It takes ####fairly long time for the mineral oil to go deep enough into the wood, but it definitely works. The oil I used came from Williams-Sonoma (I happened to see it, so I bought it) and the instructions said to apply a heavy coat, let it sit overnight, wipe the excess off and apply another coat. Repeat for a week, then let the board sit for a week so it can penetrate. Apply another coat, let it sit, then wipe any excess off. Let it sit and soak in. After that, they recommend wiping the board after every use, soap is OK. Apply another coat once every month afterward. Periodic scraping helps remove any accumulation and shears off loose wood fibers.The mineral oil needs to be food grade and any oil that can trigger allergies, such as walnut oil, needs to be avoided.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
such as walnut oil, needs to be avoided.I'm sure that walnut oil is non-toxic... Anything can cause/trigger allergies in some people..
Edited 10/30/2005 4:17 pm by WillGeorge
I thought it was a breadboard, not a cutting board, but I suppose they are synonymous. I think reactive oils are non-toxic when cured, but if a film would cause trouble then it's mineral oil only I guess.
Sounds like my 2 quick coats of oil just wasn't enough. I'll scrape down the board, then try the method of applying the oil mentioned above.
On a side note, I bought my mineral oil from a drug store. That's were I was told to get it. So it isn't spacific to woodwork. In fact it's sold as a laxitive :) So I didn't have the benifit of instructions.
Thanks for the help guys, I'll make a quick post in a few weeks to let you know how it went.
Douglas
" So I didn't have the benefit of instructions ."
A couple of gulps in the morning should keep things running smoothly all day .
So I am told .
dusty
:-)
Grain raising occurs when water swells the wood. You can't completely stop this from happening unless you apply a film finish with significant thickness, which certainly won't work for a bread board or cutting board.
In-the-wood finishes just can't prevent the migration of water. Mineral oil never cures--eventually it will evaporate away and require recoating. Reactive oils such as linseed or tung oil do cure and don't just evaporate away, but still do little to protect from water. If I were giving wooden cutting boards as gifts I'd include a small, attractive container of mineral oil with care instructions including admonitions not to soak the board.
The treatment used on commercial bread boards and chopping blocks is a mixture of paraffin wax and mineral oil. Heat the mineral oil in double boiler and sort of sliver in paraffin in about a 6-8 parts mineral oil to one part paraffin. The ratio is not critical.
While still warm, brush on a thick coat of the mixture and let the board set overnight. Do it again the next day. If it still looks dry the following morning, do it again. Finally, lightly scrape off any excess and buff with a soft rag.
Re-treat whenever the board looks dry. Don't put the board into the dishwasher or let sit in dishwater. Only wipe it with a slightly soapy sponge and quickly rinse off.
Even oil and paraffin will allow water vapor through and can cause grain raising. No way to totally prevent that. It's best to raise the grain prior to treating with the paraffin/oil.
Would adding a coat or two of wax over the oil act in the same way? Or must I mix them together?
Douglas
just finishing one now maple and wallnut have a oillfilled space heater(no fire hazard) that i set the board on to warm up a little and then apply the mineral oil seems to suck right in to the wood, all i have ever used . should add the boards are only 3/8" thick hate those big thick ones have a good one
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