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Step 3 Curing

After you've finished your project you'll want to do something on it so that it turns resistant to use and time. This is referred to as "curing".

There's a first distinction among things you may want to cure: whether you're going to put food on your wooden thing, or not.

• If you are not going to put food on it, you can use varnish. Varnish will not only protect your wood, but may also give it a nicer aspect, highlighting colors and contrasts in the wood, giving it a brilliant look, and some times even adding some color of its own. Varnish is usually disolved in some kind of oil, thinner, or other volatile solvent; all of these being toxic. I've heard about some water-soluble varnishes too.
• If you're going to put FOOD on your wooden thing, DO NOT PUT ANY VARNISH as most varnishes and corresponding solvents are toxic, and an innapropriate choice and/or application may be lethal. Instead, cure by washing carefully with lots of water, then add a lot of salt while it's still wet from the previuos wash with water, and let stand overnight. Then wash again with a lot of water and apply a final washing step with household detergent and water.

A note on flat surfaces being cured: You'll note that when a flat wood piece is cured (or wet in general) it bends. Some times this bending is small but some times it's so big that it can crack / break the piece. So, when you want a shape not to change or a piece not to break while it's being cured, put some weight on it trying to counteract the effect.

Comments

[Rishnai]

There are food-safe varnishes available. You see them on some woodenware. The main concern is chipping (like on a cutting board) or not being dishwasher safe. Otherwise, the volatile chemicals, being volatile, evaporate. Of ocurse, a bad choice would range from unpleasant to near-lethal, so perhaps stick to ye olde salt...

[static]

mineral oil from the pharmacy, should be safe finish for wooden ware. Intended for consumption, to lubricate the digestive track, to make things "move" better.

[red-king]

flax oil (sometimes sold as linseed oil, but NOT boiled linseed oil, which has chemicals added), and grapeseed oil are some of the food safe wood finishes i can think of that would be suitable for this.

When using flax/linseed oil make sure you don't leave a oily rag out. Put it into a sealed container with water, as they can catch fire.