Today's newbie finishing question

[Joe McMahon]

I finally found the first peppermill hiding in that block of walnut this morning. Although it won't win any awards, I like it and I'm sure my daughters will like them on Christmas.

I sanded to 400 grit then used EEE.

Now, how do I finish it to make it durable enough for use in a house with three kids from 3- 8 years old? I have shelawax that I could apply, but I don't guess that will be very durable. Should I use blo, or danish oil & then poly or shellac or ........????

[Jim Burr]

Anything with wax won't stand up to kitchen abuse. CA or WOP are good choices although CA may be a bit on the expensive for that. I have 5 kitchen pieces that are used everyday, saltbox, peppermill, saltmill, pizza cutter and wooden tool holder. All have WOP and have never had an issue.

[Scott Hackler]

EEE is a wax and will have to be removed before any thing else is applied. For maximum durability I would think that poly would be hard to beat.

[Joe McMahon]

Anything with wax won't stand up to kitchen abuse. CA or WOP are good choices although CA may be a bit on the expensive for that. I have 5 kitchen pieces that are used everyday, saltbox, peppermill, saltmill, pizza cutter and wooden tool holder. All have WOP and have never had an issue.

I know what CA is but what is WOP?

[Dan Forman]

WOP = wipe on poly(urethane) varnish. Curious to see what else is recommended, as I plan on making a few of these as well.

Dan

[David E Keller]

I prefer something that can easily be rejuvenated... It's walnut oil and beeswax for my mills.

[Charles Bjorgen]

So far I've had good luck with wipe on poly by Minwax for the few pepper mills I've made. Both glossy and matte available. I go with matte generally wiping on about four coats with light sanding between coats. Does not have that plastic look that people generally attribute to poly finishes.

[Joe McMahon]

I prefer something that can easily be rejuvenated... It's walnut oil and beeswax for my mills.


Where can you get walnut oil?

[Bernie Weishapl]

Joe I use shellac while on the lathe then coat with several light coats of lacquer. I also use GF Woodturners finish from Woodcraft. My niece has one of my mills with 4 kids from 6 to 11 and the lacquer has held up well.

[Curt Fuller]

I have an old oak table that I refinished about 20 years ago using minwax polyurethane. We eat on this table every day, no tablecloth or any protection and it's still going strong. For something like a peppermill that will get daily use I think I'd go with poly.

[David E Keller]

Where can you get walnut oil?I use Mahoney's walnut oil from Craft Supplies, but I think several places sell it.

[Joe McMahon]

Well, I applied tru oil and with only one coat it looks pretty good. I do want to try walnut oil. I have four more to make so I think I'll try different coats and let everyone know how they hels up (in about 10-15 years or so??) ;-)

[Michelle Rich]

Joe, walnut oil is in grocery stores..