# Food safe stain for bowls?



## David Nickell (Jul 6, 2020)

I pulled some more chunks of Hackberry out of my woodpile and turned these yesterday and today. The tall vessel is about six inches high and four across. Someone here, I forget who, but thank you, posted a link to a mixture of shellac, boiled linseed oil and denatured alcohol. I used that on it.

The bowl, which is about 8 inches across, was sanded to 320 grit before being pulled off the lathe. Does anyone have a suggestion for a food-safe sealant/stain that would work with that Hackberry grain?

Is Hackberry itself food-safe?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

If you intend to use a mineral oil finish I believe I would be inclined to use food coloring for stain. It's not very colorfast but washing a bowl with a mineral oil finish would need to be frequently treated. 

You could use a regular wood stain and finish it with an oil based polyurethane. It would be a month before it would be food safe but it would be once the finish has cured.


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## David Nickell (Jul 6, 2020)

Steve Neul said:


> If you intend to use a mineral oil finish I believe I would be inclined to use food coloring for stain. It's not very colorfast but washing a bowl with a mineral oil finish would need to be frequently treated.
> 
> You could use a regular wood stain and finish it with an oil based polyurethane. It would be a month before it would be food safe but it would be once the finish has cured.


I've never tried to make anything food safe, so I'm totally in the dark here.


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

I use store brand mineral oil on all the cutting boards and trivets I make (total of both are probably in the 135 range). Cutting boards also get a final coat with Beeswax mixed in with the mineral oil.

David


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## Dave McCann (Jun 21, 2020)

Walnut oil is food safe. The link below is just an example of what is available, I have not used this product.

Amazon.com: Ultimate Walnut Oil by Mahoney's Finishes: Food Safe Wood Finish for Satin Sheen/ Easy To Use, FastDrying Wood Protective Finish/ Salad Bowl, Cutting Board, Utility and Furniture Walnut Wood Protectant: Home Improvement


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

David Nickell said:


> I've never tried to make anything food safe, so I'm totally in the dark here.


If you think about it there is lawyers circling the paint manufacturers like the buzzards they are looking for any excuse to line their pockets. There is very little you could finish with that wouldn't be food safe. There really hasn't been an unsafe product on the market in 40 years or more. The only issue is the drying time. All finishes emit particles of the finish while they are in the drying process. If you use one too soon you might get a little of it but not enough to actually hurt you. It would take a long term exposure like if you were making bowls and using them too soon and then giving them away and make yourself new bowls and use those too soon too and so on you might make yourself sick. What ever finish if it was allowed to completely dry I wouldn't worry about it.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

I use this on most of my turnings. It's easy to use and looks great.

The name would seem to indicate it will be OK on Bowls 




General Finishes Wood Bowl Finish










Here's what the finish looks like on a peppermill.


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## David Nickell (Jul 6, 2020)

Steve Neul said:


> If you think about it there is lawyers circling the paint manufacturers like the buzzards they are looking for any excuse to line their pockets. There is very little you could finish with that wouldn't be food safe. There really hasn't been an unsafe product on the market in 40 years or more. The only issue is the drying time. All finishes emit particles of the finish while they are in the drying process. If you use one too soon you might get a little of it but not enough to actually hurt you. It would take a long term exposure like if you were making bowls and using them too soon and then giving them away and make yourself new bowls and use those too soon too and so on you might Evenmake yourself sick. What ever finish if it was allowed to completely dry I wouldn't worry about it.


Even the shellack and boiled linseed oil?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

David Nickell said:


> Even the shellack and boiled linseed oil?


Linseed oil is made from flax seeds which is something people snack on. Shellac is a natural product created by the lac bug. The only issue with shellac might be it's not very water resistant. If you washed a bowl that was finished with shellac you would probably have to wipe it down with alcohol to cut the water that had gotten in it.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

The General Finishes Wood Bowl Finish says its food safe.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> Linseed oil is made from flax seeds which is something people snack on. Shellac is a natural product created by the lac bug. The only issue with shellac might be it's not very water resistant. If you washed a bowl that was finished with shellac you would probably have to wipe it down with alcohol to cut the water that had gotten in it.


I think that's true of Raw Linseed oils, but doesn't "boiled" linseed oil contain driers derived from heavy metals?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Quickstep said:


> I think that's true of Raw Linseed oils, but doesn't "boiled" linseed oil contain driers derived from heavy metals?


I never gave it much thought but looked it up just now and the only difference between raw linseed oil and boiled linseed oil is they blow hot air through it to thicken it.


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## David Nickell (Jul 6, 2020)

The world would be such a nicer place if there were simple answers. (sigh)

Any suggestions that would highlight the grain and color of Hackberry?


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## Jay_L (Oct 16, 2020)

In lieu of a stain or food dye, I’m wondering if hackberry contains enough tannic acid in order for it to react to something such as fuming or a reagent such as sodium nitrite. I’m also wondering how it would behave w/nitric acid or aqua fortis, or possibly even a stain made w/ van **** crystals, although I’m not certain of VD’s toxicity after it’s been applied. I might add that I’ve never worked with hackberry so I’m just throwing out some possibilities which may or may not work. Also, I prefer Millie’s All Purpose Penetrating Tung Oil w/Pure Beeswax by Sutherland Welles which contains no driers for food contact surfaces.


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

There are two kinds of boiled linseed oil. One kind has metallic driers, considered toxic and not food safe. The other kind has been through a heating process and is considered food safe. Personally, I would not use a boiled linseed oil finish on a food bowl unless it is labelled food safe.

Examples of food safe boiled linseed oil finishes that I have personally used are Tried and True, and Odie's Oil. Both are "boutique" oil finishes. I have been using Tried and True on food-safe projects (including turned wood bowls) and toys for babies for a while. One other thing I can say about it is that a little goes a long way. For small projects like turned wood bowls, a $25 can of Tried and True will last a long time.

Later I discovered that this bowl turning guy likes it too. It is worth reading his comments about metallic driers in other finishes, too:
https://turnawoodbowl.com/my-favorite-food-safe-wood-finish-waterproof-almost/

Mahoney's walnut oil recommended above is also suitable for food safe use. Mike Mahoney is a highly respected woodworker who knows walnut. He buys huge truckloads of it from walnut farms.

100% pure tung oil can take a long time to dry, and I have not used it, but it is also food safe.

I have also used the inexpensive Klean-Strip boiled linseed oil that comes in a metal can. It has metallic driers, and I would never use it on a food bowl. It is a good, inexpensive oil finish for non-food projects.

I tested several oil finishes on mahogany scrap pieces a while ago, and was surprised at how little difference in appearance there is between them. Basically, they darken and "amber" the wood, and pop the grain. I like a natural wood look, and don't bother with stain. The polymerized (dried and hardened) oil finishes offer some protection (not that much). Oil finishes are easy to reapply if needed.

I use mineral oil (including blends with wax) finishes as well, but only on cutting boards that get actual use as cutting boards. They require more frequent "refreshing." Mineral oil provides moisture protection for cutting boards, but it is a non-drying oil that does not polymerize.


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