Tulip Poplar Wood Bowl

[JosephTree]

I am just finishing with the carving phase of making my first bowl. It's more a bread trough than a bowl, maybe, at 22" x 10" x 5". I'm drying it by only giving it a couple hours an evening out of plastic, and turning the plastic inside out daily. So far, so well. I seem to recall that Tulip, free from knots or significant irregularities is reasonably forgiving as far as checking and splitting go.

My main question is what to use for a finish. I've heard of linseed oil and of walnut oil. Any recomendations? I'd prefer something that won't leave a taste, as it will be used for actual bread dough work. How about color? Will an oil leave the wood bright? It would be OK if it aged to darker.

[Mitchell]

Use the search function for "food safe finish" and you should get quite a few threads with some good suggestions.

[jmischel]

I've used Salad Bowl Finish to good effect. Easy to apply as per directions. It's a bit expensive, but a little goes a long way. I got mine at Woodcraft, but it's available from lots of suppliers.

[JosephTree]

Gracias, amigos!

[Sharon of the Dell]

I melted a small pure beeswax candle into walnut and various veggie oils over a double boiler. I use this on spoons. It doesn't seem to leave any bad tastes. I keep it in the fringe and use it as needed. It smells good and also is a great hand and face lotion!

[vacation212]

I would use bee wax [salad bowl quality]

[Woody1961]

Originally Posted by JosephTree

I am just finishing with the carving phase of making my first bowl. It's more a bread trough than a bowl, maybe, at 22" x 10" x 5". I'm drying it by only giving it a couple hours an evening out of plastic, and turning the plastic inside out daily. So far, so well. I seem to recall that Tulip, free from knots or significant irregularities is reasonably forgiving as far as checking and splitting go.

My main question is what to use for a finish. I've heard of linseed oil and of walnut oil. Any recomendations? I'd prefer something that won't leave a taste, as it will be used for actual bread dough work. How about color? Will an oil leave the wood bright? It would be OK if it aged to darker.

Any of these oils would be fine; however, the one that I would recommend is what I use on my cutting boards. I have made and sold dozens of cutting boards and the best finish for any wood that will come into contact with wood is plain ole food grade (USP) mineral oil. You can find this at any pharmacy (look for it in the pharmacy section of Walmart). It was $1.58 last time I bought it at Walmart. You find it in the laxative section. This stuff will not make you crap in the small amounts you put on a bowl/cutting board. When you put oil on wood it will show the true quality of the wood and grain. To estimate what it will look like with a clear oil like mineral oil you can wipe it with some paint thinner/mineral spirits. This will dry very quickly and be gone, but it will show you pretty much what the clear oil finish will look like. Walnut oil will generally darken the wood a good bit more. Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO) is a bit darker, but when I put it a piece of poplar, it didn't really darken it much (see pictures).

[bigEd_H]

Howard Butcher Block Conditioner is great for finishing items that will be used for food. It is a mixture of food grade mineral oil, bees wax, carnauba wax and vitamin E.