Reclaimed wood saturated with some industrial product - question on sealing it in

[Scott Connell]

Hello,

This is my first post to Sawmill Creek so apologies if I've posted this in the wrong place. But here's the question I have...

I recently purchased some cypress lumber from a reclaimed building product shop. It has been sitting in my shop for a couple months and recently I started the process of jointing, planing, etc to get it to the dimensions I want for an informal dining room table. I quickly noticed this smell coming from the wood especially after I planed it and it smells like some sort of oil or machine lubricant. After I cut some down, I also noticed that it was leaching out some sort of liquid onto other pieces of lumber I had it leaned agains. I went back to the shop where I purchased the wood and was advised that these were some old floor boards from some sort of machine shop in Maine and they were in fact "saturated" with some sort of lubricant...but it isn't creosote thank goodness. Had the original guy in the yard told me this, I wouldn't have bought the stuff. But now I'm stuck with it and before I take the lumber to the dump, I was wondering if there were any suggestions regarding finish products that would "lock in" the smell. The lumber has such a striking grain pattern that hate to give it up so any suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated. I could use it for outdoor stuff, but still don't want the odor.

Thanks,
Scott

[Mel Fulks]

I think shellac will seal it , sure you will get some good posts come daylight. I worked for years in a real old woodworking mill that had wood floors over large long leaf pine beams,all of the machines had the oil cups filled each day even if they were seldom used. Everything leaked.Place has been torn down now but the wood was reclaimed. A common occurrence for the stuff to be saturated.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Yep - Mel has it.
A coat of shellac should do the trick.

Zinsser Seal Coat is what I'd recommend.

[Howard Acheson]

A dewaxed shellac will most likely seal the odor as well a providing a barrier coat that other finishes will adhere to. But, be sure to test it out before using that lumber on a real project to ensure the odor is masked and that the shellac has good adhesion on the wood. Be aware also that any penetration of the barrier coat (screw holes, scratches or dings) will allow the odor to escape at some future time.

[Gary Breckenridge]

On the other hand...A table top means food and kids will eat food off a tabletop. That is your problem not simply using the shellac to seal the smell.

[Scott Connell]

Thanks for the helpful advice. This table will likely not be around kids with any regularity and I don't see too many circumstances of anyone eating directly off it. But for precautionary measures, is there anything that can go over shellac to make it safer for food contact? Thanks again.

[Scott T Smith]

Scott, the flooring in my house is made from reclaimed pine boards that came out of an old textile mill. Much of my flooring was saturated with cotton seed oil (the beams that the flooring was made from came from the floors of the press rooms).

A "moisture cure" polyurethane was used as a finish, and we have not had any problems with adhesion.

[Scott Holmes]

Shellac is FOOD SAFE. as a matter of fact many candies arecoated with shellac ... melts in your mouth, not in your hand...

Candy and pills manufactures use moe shellac each year than woodworkers.

Shellac finish is also easy to repair.