The biggest disadvantage of oak as a kitchen material is that it contains tannic acid, which turns black when in contact with iron. That is, if your wife leaves a wet frying pan on the cutting board overnight, it can result in a black mark on the oak that you have to sand down or bleach with, for example, citric acid. Naturally, you'll need to sand with 360 grit paper, Scotch-Brite, or steel wool, then re-oil the surface, which takes a bit of time.
Otherwise, oak is very cozy and becomes warm and nice when oiled with linseed oil. It takes a year for the color to fully develop, so be patient.
Oak is also a devilish wood type. If you're going to glue and work with it, be aware that it moves a lot and takes a long time before it's completely dry. The splinters sting like red ants until you get them out...
Otherwise, oak is very cozy and becomes warm and nice when oiled with linseed oil. It takes a year for the color to fully develop, so be patient.
Oak is also a devilish wood type. If you're going to glue and work with it, be aware that it moves a lot and takes a long time before it's completely dry. The splinters sting like red ants until you get them out...
As a tip, if you want to use linseed oil but avoid/reduce yellowing, there is bleached linseed oil. It is used a lot in art painting today but was also used by decorative painters in the past.
You can make it yourself, but it takes a little time, so maybe it's not something for now but for next fall/winter
Take a good quality boiled linseed oil and pour it into a transparent glass bottle and screw on the lid. It should be airtight because you want to avoid oxidation. Place the bottle in a south-facing window for half a year (or more).
The bleached oil will not yellow to the same extent as unbleached oil, but all wood darkens when oiled.
You can make it yourself, but it takes a little time, so maybe it's not something for now but for next fall/winter
Take a good quality boiled linseed oil and pour it into a transparent glass bottle and screw on the lid. It should be airtight because you want to avoid oxidation. Place the bottle in a south-facing window for half a year (or more).
The bleached oil will not yellow to the same extent as unbleached oil, but all wood darkens when oiled.
Speaking of testers, yesterday I melted beeswax flakes in paraffin oil and rubbed them into a newly made cutting board. Excited to see the result today after it has soaked in a bit.T Testarn said:As a tip, if you want to use linseed oil but avoid/minimize yellowing, there is bleached linseed oil available. It is used a lot in art painting today but was also used by decorative painters in the past.
You can make it yourself, but it takes some time, so it might not be something for now but for next fall/winter
Take a high-quality boiled linseed oil and pour it into a transparent glass bottle and screw the cap on. It should be airtight because you want to avoid oxidation. Place the bottle in a south-facing window for half a year (or more).
The bleached oil will not yellow as much as an unbleached oil, but all wood darkens when oiled.