Not really a Gloat, but actually a question

[Ken Glass]

Hey All,
I was recently commissioned by a client to do a Cake Stand and (8) eight Desert Plates from Spalted Hackberry. I was able to save shipping by going by the eBay seller's place, which was on the way, after a recent Wild Boar Hunting trip, by my brother and I. The 8-8"x2"blanks and Wild Hog are shown below. The Hog is the non Splated one, and weighed in at 304lbs, and was taken at 110 yds. Yummy tasting too, the Hog, not the Hackberry. lol. I bought a 12" blank as well, that I have rough turned and is currently in the DNA for a couple days. Now the question: What does everyone use on finishes to make it durable and food safe? They will be used to serve cake and the plates will have fork use only. Thanks.

P.S. I know Hackberry is a semi soft wood, so the finish will need to do most of the work in keeping the pieces form denting or scratching. Hoping for some good ideas....

[Ken Glass]

107 reads and no responses. I must have bad breath?

[Dale Miner]

110 yds with a rifled slug, nice shooting.

I suppose the durability question has to do with how spalted the wood is. If it is essentially unchanged from the non spalted hackberry, then my guess is several coats of polyurethane will suffice. If the wood is starting to get soft from the fungal activity, then some type of wood hardener will be needed before final sanding and top coating with poly. While I've not used Poly All 2000, it has had great reviews from those that have, that would be my choice if in your situation. My second choice would be Minway wood hardener before final sanding etc. My third choice would be a thinned Titebond 3 soak when nearing the final cut followed with sufficient drying time, and then final cut, sanding, and a topcoat of poly.

I don't think any treatment will prevent the wood from eventually getting marked from use.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I made a cake platter on a stand out of cottonwood and use polymerized tung oil on it. It has had 3 cakes on it and still looks good.

[Jon McElwain]

I like to use some food safe mineral oil followed by carnauba wax, but I know a lot of folks prefer walnut oil. The walnut oil will harden over time. I am not sure if wither of those will protect much from denting or scratching, but they are good food safe finishes.

Here is a really good thread on food safe finishes. (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?168767-Is-there-a-food-safe-non-yellowing-finish/page2)

Nice hog! Let me know when you are cooking pork ribs for dinner...

[Steve Campbell]

Ken I can't comment much about the wood, But a 110 yard shot with a shotgun impresses the heck out of me. Hope it is tasty.

Steve

[Dennis Ford]

I think that I would use WOP and take the shine off so that any scratches would not be as noticable. An epoxy finish might be more durable but I have never done that (sure that it would be more difficult than WOP).
You did good thinning out the hog population.

[Bob Bergstrom]

Clear plastic plate of compatible size and shape. Can see though them and won't harm the wood. I don't see a better way if they are to be used. The spalted wood is a real looker, but not much on durability.

[Ken Glass]

All,
Thanks for the comments. It looks as though WOP will be the best for durability and I don't think it will hurt anyone using it for Desert/Cake.

John,
That's a long way to come for Ribs?, but you are welcome.

Dale & Steve,
Thanks. My brother also got one 2-1/2 hours later. Mine was a Russian/Razorback cross and his was a pure Razorback. Both were sows, so they are very tasty. I had some sausage this morning.

[Jim Burr]

WOP would be my choice...and chops:D! Sure hope that's an 870 with a slug load...pellets dispersing at 1" per linear yard would mean 2 pellets hit Ms Piggy;)

[George Morris]

Nice Hog! Good luck with the turnings!

[Curt Fuller]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm pork chops! Do you eat it all except the squeal?

My own personal theory on finishing wood for normal everyday use is something like walnut oil or mineral oil. Some are squeamish about using mineral oil because it's a petroleum product and that's ok if it bothers some. But either of these two finishes are very easy to re-finish when the inevitable knife and fork scratches and wear and tear of washing start showing up. Just wipe a little fresh oil on with a paper towel and they look like new again.

[Baxter Smith]

Nice wood and nice little piggy! Short term the WOP will look good. Long term????

[Paul Gallian]

From your photo it looks like you killed all of the trees also.

[Rick Markham]

I would personally steer clear of a polyurethane finish for one reason. When it gets damaged it's not going to be fixable without a whole lot of work. An oil finish is easily fixed and maintained. I always use Walnut oil, but always ask to make sure that no one in the family has a nut allergy. Maybe one of the "stabilized wood" guru's will chime in, I would think the best bet for durability would to have the wood stabilized, then you might end up with an already finished product to (I know nothing about stabilizing wood)

[Ken Glass]

Paul,
Just regular winter in the Missouri southwest.

Rick,
Good point. I shoot Lacquer a lot and its very durable and easy to fix as each coat burns into the previous one, but I was not sure it was food safe until I just read an article http://www.woodmagazine.com/materials-guide/finishes/is-your-finish-food-safe/ that stated most clear finishes are food safe as long as they are cured completely. I may try that. Any others with ideas?

[Brian Kent]

Thats some wild looking hog and / or wood.

[Pat Scott]

Get some Salad Bowl Finish and thin it 50/50 with Mineral Spirits. Put on a coat, let it soak in for a few minutes, and then wipe off as much as you can. Let it sit overnight. You're wiping off excess finish from the surface, but the thinned finish will have soaked into the wood to start filling the pores. After it dries overnight, put on a 2nd coat the same way. The next day you can use 0000 steel wool to smooth the surface if you want. Apply a 3rd coat and you should have a nice looking natural or at most a Satin finish. The idea with thinning the finish is you want to fill the pores and let the finish soak into the wood but not build up a film on the surface. If you keep applying more coats of thinned finish, it will start to build on the surface. Usually 3 coats is all I use on my plates, and after frequent use and washing, the plates still look brand new. Forks don't damage a plate like you might think. Most people don't try and shove their fork so hard into the plate that the tines make marks (you just stab your food enough to lift it off the plate), and cutting on a plate with the side of a fork is such a big dull surface that it doesn't make any marks either.

If your spalted Hackberry is that punky and soft, make the plates for show and find a different wood to make plates that will get used. That is beautiful wood you have though. And congrats on the hog, I've always wanted to take one myself.

[Bill Wyko]

Don't know about the wood but you may want to try my pork butt & rib rub recipe.:D I call it BBQ Bill's great tastin grub rub.

Put this one on your Pork ribs or pork Butt and you'll think you're in heaven. This is my own recipe. Took a loooong time to perfect.

1/2c dark brown sugar
1/2c white sugar
1/2c paprika
1/3c garlic powder
1/4c onion flakes
1/2c kosher salt
1T chili powder
1T oregano
1tsp cayenne
1tsp ground cumin
1T ground black pepper
1T adobo

Mix well breaking up any lumps. Cover ribs thoroughly and give them a tap on the cutting board to leave an even coat. Refrigerate over night.
3-2-1 is next.
3 hours of smoke @ 180 degrees
2 hours in aluminum foil with 1oz of apple juice or 1 ounce of water & 1 tablespoon of honey. Be sure to rap them up tightly.
1 hour @ 225 degrees on the grill.

Times and temp may vary depending on the size of the rack. This timing is for a big rack or 2. Cook until the meat has pulled about 1/4 inch away from the end of the bones. This is great on ribs, chicken, pork butts, even omelets and potatoes. Let me know if you enjoy that. Next time it'll be my sauce. A little more tweaking and I'll have the sauce perfected. Enjoy

I'm sorry but It must suck to be veegan.

[Ken Glass]

Pat,
That sounds like a great recipe and a great way to go. The wood is hard and not at all punky. He spalts his own wood and controls it very well and gets great spalting. I may try that method. Thanks.

[Jon Lanier]

All finishes are inert after they have cured. So with that in mind you have many to choose from. Rick Markham makes a good point about being able 'fix' damage on a finish. I would also be concerned about 'spalted' wood and eating from the bowl if it get exposed to food.

[Ken Glass]

Bill,
My mouth was watering as I read your recipe. I didn't know what "adobo" was but my wife did and likes it. I have already copied it and saved it into a recipe book. Thanks.

[Pat Scott]

Pat,
That sounds like a great recipe and a great way to go. The wood is hard and not at all punky. He spalts his own wood and controls it very well and gets great spalting. I may try that method. Thanks.

What I like about this finish/method is the Salad Bowl Finish provides more protection than oil (Walnut or Mineral oil), so it meets your requirement of being more durable. Appetizer and Dessert plates will last and look good for a very long time before they ever need to be touched up (if ever). And if they do need touched up, just apply another thinned coat or two and you're good to go. The thinned finish fills the pores and provides a little sheen at the same time, so your plates will look nicer than an oil finish. And they are easy to care for, dried or sticky food washes right off just like a normal plate because the pores are filled. And SBF is FDA approved as being food safe, so no worries there (which meets your other criteria). I treat all my plates and utility salad bowls this way. They all look like brand new months and years later. Hand wash and dry, never soak in water, never put them in the dishwasher or microwave. Refrigerators are fine and won't affect the wood or finish. It works for me.