So I’m making some toys out of wood (plywood now, maple later) for the toddler set on my Nomad but I’m wondering what to seal the wood with. I’ve seen mention of food grade mineral oil (a la cutting boards). This isn’t strictly a CNC topic I know, but does go to finishing off a project. Any thoughts anybody?
@Darren, I know you were making toys for a while–did you use any kind of sealer?
I like walnut oil rubbed down with bee’s wax w/ Johnson’s paste wax — walnut may cause allergic reactions and the latter uses naptha.
Other better options:
General you need an oil to bring out the beauty of the wood and a wax to protect the wood.
I use mineral oil from the drug store (easy to apply and doesn’t need to set up). Environmentalist tend to not like this oil as it is a byproduct of the petroleum refinement process.
Nut oils can also be used as long as the child has no nut allergies. Just make sure the oil will not go rancid over time (fruit and vegetable oils will general go rancid)
For the wax part many people use beeswax (not vegan friendly), shellac, or a varnish.
If you let most commercial finishes fully set up (when it doesn’t smell like stain anymore, around 33 days for danish oil) they are food safe. Home depo even sells a spray lacquer designed as a clear coat for toys.
The safest option is olive oil. I mixed olive oil with raw (boiled) bees wax and it worked great. 3 parts olive oil to 1 part bees wax worked to make a good paste. It also held up well and the wood kept looking rich months after I first applied it.
I’ve always read you can’t use vegetable oils like that because after a while they go rancid. I wonder if the beeswax inhibits that from happening?
Thanks all! It looks like I’ll try food grade mineral oil with beeswax. I’m tempted to try olive oil (apparently extra virgin has a higher percentage of monounsaturated fats, which are less easily oxidized and hydrolized, hence less susceptible to going rancid) but I’ve read conflicting things about whether the beeswax can keep it from going rancid. I’m excited to try it out, but alas it will have to wait a week or so while I clear the decks for it.