Chopping board oil

galwaydude18

Well everyone. I made my very first end grain chopping board and I'm wondering what food safe oil ye use to treat yours with?

Also where do ye buy the oil for it?

deandean

Well done! Could you stick a photo up?

I use olive oil, heat a saucer of it in the microwave so it's warm and thin, then liberally apply with a brush on all sides and edges. Keep applying until the end grain is full (about 3 coats).

And like any oil: re-apply after an hour; a day; a week; a month thereafter.

Make sure no one puts it in the dishwasher!

I have tried lighter oils: grapeseed, walnut, but they are too light and don't last in a kitchen environment.

galwaydude18

deandean wrote: »

Well done! Could you stick a photo up?

I use olive oil, heat a saucer of it in the microwave so it's warm and thin, then liberally apply with a brush on all sides and edges. Keep applying until the end grain is full (about 3 coats).

And like any oil: re-apply after an hour; a day; a week; a month thereafter.

Make sure no one puts it in the dishwasher!

I have tried lighter oils: grapeseed, walnut, but they are too light and don't last in a kitchen environment.

Will the olive oil not turn rancid? I read earlier on about oil in chopping boards turning rancid after a while.

Piercemeear

You can get food safe oil in Ikea in Dublin and in Stock on Stephen's Green in Dublin. It's quite cheap in Ikea.

I'm not sure about olive oil turning rancid, but I read the same thing. I happened upon each of those last year after making my own end-grain chopping board.

galwaydude18

Piercemeear wrote: »

You can get food safe oil in Ikea in Dublin and in Stock on Stephen's Green in Dublin. It's quite cheap in Ikea.

I'm not sure about olive oil turning rancid, but I read the same thing. I happened upon each of those last year after making my own end-grain chopping board.

That's just my luck. I was only in Dublin last Friday right beside ikea and all. It's seems mineral oil is the right choice but I wonder where you can buy it?

Reader1937

galwaydude18 wrote: »

That's just my luck. I was only in Dublin last Friday right beside ikea and all. It's seems mineral oil is the right choice but I wonder where you can buy it?

Got some pure Tung oil from flybowshop.com which works. Any organic will decay, but it is for something in use, not for hanging on the wall. The boards are washed anyway after use. Did you use Beech for the endgrain board? Heard a butcher say they were the best. By the way, that guy in flybow is up beside Ballina so no long delivery delays if he has it. His shop is worth a visit too - never seen trad bows made anywhere else.

deandean

galwaydude18 wrote: »

Will the olive oil not turn rancid? I read earlier on about oil in chopping boards turning rancid after a while.

Well, I have been using olive oil on three boards here, the longest dates back to about 1992 and I've never come across any rancidness, not ever.

Obviously you are gonna apply it to a fully seasoned and dry board, yes?

A coupla hours after you apply the olive oil, it's comletely dry.

Olive oil, you can drink the stuff. Suggest you take a swig of any of the other recommendations before using them. BTW I wouldn't drink Tung oil :eek:

The Ikea stuff is probably a formulation of vegetable oils (glorified Flora).

If you particularly want a mineral oil: they are of course all petroleum distillates You can go to a pharmacist and get a bottle of food-grade paraffin oil that'll probably do the job. It's a great laxative too, you want that on a chopping board?

1chippy

I use the olive oil regularly here and no problems. brings out a nice glow on some of the timbers too.

del88

Any nut oil will do the job..won't go rancid .. I use walnut oil on wooden spoons with no problem...also nice on stir fries ..;-)

galwaydude18

Well lads I got liquid parafin (mineral oil) in Connacht gold in Athlone this afternoon. €7.49 for one litre.

Here's a picture of the chopping board. Just put the liquid parafin on it two mins ago

horsemaster

Beautiful work there OP! How did you get the edges to look that way?

galwaydude18

horsemaster wrote: »

Beautiful work there OP! How did you get the edges to look that way?

I used a handsaw and bent it and got my little girl to mark it with a pencil. I then cut a few millimetres away from the pencil line and then sanded it with the belt sander to the line.

I then used a round over bit to ease the edges. I then used an air sander to sand the crap out of it and have now applied one coat of parafin oil onto the top of it and the sides.

Going to leave it for a half hour to soak in and then wipe the excess off and do the other side after that.

horsemaster

Thata lot of work that went into making that board and it shows! Wonderful work OP and make sure you give that daughter of yours a pat in the back for helping.

galwaydude18

horsemaster wrote: »

Thata lot of work that went into making that board and it shows! Wonderful work OP and make sure you give that daughter of yours a pat in the back for helping.

Oh I will. She has her own tool set as well for doing her own work under supervision.

horsemaster

OP. when I made my first chopping block, I got advice from quite a few people on the oiling part. I think the posters above just about covered all of them. To add to their advice I would also like to add a bit from what others have told me. Nut based oil is good also but it will eventually go rancid. Mineral oil is the way to go. I did finish off the board by polishing it off with some beeswax (after the oiling). I didn't want to go overboard with the polishing e.g. Carnuba, White Diamond, etc. because the board is not a display item but a an item that is going to go through a lot of cuts, scratches, etc.

woodturner

galwaydude18 wrote: »

Well lads I got liquid parafin (mineral oil) in Connacht gold in Athlone this afternoon. €7.49 for one litre.

Here's a picture of the chopping board. Just put the liquid parafin on it two mins ago

You can get a gallon of liquid paraffin at any farmers Co-Op for about €20. It is used as a laxative for cattle.

Radiotower

galwaydude18 wrote: »

Well lads I got liquid parafin (mineral oil) in Connacht gold in Athlone this afternoon. €7.49 for one litre.

Here's a picture of the chopping board. Just put the liquid parafin on it two mins ago

Nice work - I've been planning on making one of these for a while now but never have the time!!

Is there any restrictions on the types of wood you can use?

galwaydude18

Radiotower wrote: »

Nice work - I've been planning on making one of these for a while now but never have the time!!

Is there any restrictions on the types of wood you can use?

No I wouldn't say there are any restrictions to the type of wood you use but I would highly recommend a hardwood to make it with.

The timber must also be kiln dried

Double Barrel

GD18

Well done. :cool:
~~~~~~~~~

John Boos manufactures butcher blocks and cutting boards.


"Mystery Oil is a mixture of mineral oil, linseed oil and tung oil and will give your john boos product the same quality finish as comes from the factory."

http://www.johnboos.com/content/1/54

galwaydude18

Double Barrel wrote: »

GD18

Well done. :cool:
~~~~~~~~~

John Boos manufactures butcher blocks and cutting boards.


"Mystery Oil is a mixture of mineral oil, linseed oil and tung oil and will give your john boos product the same quality finish as comes from the factory."

http://www.johnboos.com/content/1/54

Thanks DB

dubtom

I've used the Ikea stuff on a counter and it's not great. It's water based,takes at least 24 hours to dry between sanding coats and the finish is poor compared to other oils I've used. At only a fiver or something per can great things can't be expected I suppose.