Homemade conditioner and wax

[aCircle]

When I first started down my woodworking self-education, YouTube fed me hundreds of cutting board videos. It seemed like everybody used mineral oil, always, and a question stuck in my head — how was this done before there were petroleum byproducts? It’s not really a moral issue or anything like that. I was just curious and am a bit of a tinkerer.

It looks like most commercial products are based on some combination of coconut oil, caranuba, or shea butter. Additionally, walnut oil also seems to be a bit in the mix but I can’t find clear answers on the allergy implications of a nut product.

Just the other day I had some time on my hands so I decided to start experimenting with my own recipe. I’ve had great luck with jojoba oil, so I started with ratios of jojoba to melted and purified beeswax.

Early results are as follows:

(All ratios jojoba:beeswax)

// 4:1 — Good thickness, but a bit chunky and less penetrating.
// 6:1 — Very spreadable, excellent penetration into endgrain. Wax content seems to hold the oil in place longer.
// 2:1 and 1:1 — Decent as a surface refresher on already-finished pieces.
// 1:4 — Nice for the bodies of hand planes, but also prone to fingerprints. Excellent for wooden pieces that benefit from just a tiny bit of tack.

Next up is to probably try some addition of carnauba for when I need a bit higher gloss and less tack.

So the criteria is neutral, food safe, and effective. Something you could make with a kid or have them apply.

Anybody else ever messed around with a project like this?

 

[mrFinpgh]

I use jojoba oil on my hand tools to keep corrosion at bay. Works great as long as I'm consistent about it.

I've melted beeswax and walnut oil together - I can't recall the ratio - and put that in tins to give with gifts like magnetic knife blocks and cutting boards.  It's easy to do this with a double boiler type of mechanism.  I've also done it by vacuum sealing the two ingredients together and cooking it sous vide.  [big grin]

 

[six-point socket II]

I've made my own leather conditioner for sheaths/holsters/dog leash and so on. The basic recipe/ ratio between beeswax and other ingredients I got from Bo Bergman's Book: Knifemaking: A Complete Guide to Crafting Knives, Handles & Sheaths

So yeah, I've "messed" with beeswax, oils, (...).

I would have to do an extensive search to find the recipe/ my notes. That has been a long time ago. Don't even own the book anymore I think.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[aCircle]

Thanks both!

Great tip on the book, [member=61712]six-point socket II[/member]. I found it online here and, while it was great fun to scroll through and I may well use for other projects, I didn’t see a recipe at first read-through. What am I missing?

 

[woodbutcherbower]

What am I missing?

Refined tung oil with added 4-hour dryers. Pour it on, spread it out with a paintbrush, wait 30 minutes for it to soak in, wipe off the excess with a kitchen paper towel roll, wait 4 hours and repeat. Buff with a soft cloth. Done.

That's all you'll ever need. For anything and everything.

 

[six-point socket II]

Thanks both!

Great tip on the book, [member=61712]six-point socket II[/member]. I found it online here and, while it was great fun to scroll through and I may well use for other projects, I didn’t see a recipe at first read-through. What am I missing?

I will have to check. Could have sworn it was from/in that book.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[luvmytoolz]

Refined tung oil with added 4-hour dryers. Pour it on, spread it out with a paintbrush, wait 30 minutes for it to soak in, wipe off the excess with a kitchen paper towel roll, wait 4 hours and repeat. Buff with a soft cloth. Done.

That's all you'll ever need. For anything and everything.

I've used pure tung oil with citrene to thin it on some Aussie hardwoods but was never really happy with the results. It darkened the timber quite a bit and gave a very flat finish, even after several coats over many days. Tas Blackwood which normally pops with finishes like Danish Oil, just looked very dull with tung oil. I plan to try it again on some projects as in theory it's a superior finish to many other similar ones, but I think it's a bit harder to get really good results.

 

[Packard]

I have a 10 foot run with a 5 foot peninsula made from maple.  I gave thought to using a penetrating finish, but opted to apply 4 coats of oil based poly.  That was 10 years ago. 

It is not yet ready for a refinish.  Since I have never applied any wax or oil, I will only need to scuff it up with 400 grit wet/dry and apply the full strength poly by wiping on.  Since there is significant film thickness as is; this is just going to be one coat.  I suspect it will take less than 2 hours, and I will have to no use the counter for 2 or 3 days.

Since I always use a cutting board for cutting/chopping, this has worked out for me. 

If you don’t cut directly on the countertop, I think it is far less work to apply a film finish than a penetrating one that has be be renewed every 6 months or so.

 

[encepahochs1971]

Oh, this post brought back some memories! I went down a similar rabbit hole a couple of years ago when I made my first cutting board. Like you, I started wondering how people managed finishes before modern oils were a thing. Your jojoba and beeswax experiments sound fantastic—especially the 6:1 ratio for endgrain. I’ve never tried it myself but might now!

I ended up stumbling across here when I was restoring an old oak table I found at a flea market. Their beeswax polish was a lifesaver, and it got me thinking about making my own blends too. I haven’t gotten as experimental as you (yet), but I love the idea of involving kids. My nephew helped me buff the table, and he thought it was magic watching the wood come to life.

 

[Packard]

I made a version that was recommended online.  It was mineral oil + paraffin.

The paraffin came in a bag and looked like ball bearings (BBs).  Heat up the mineral oil and add the paraffin.  I don’t remember the ratios.  I did not make any comparisons.  It was cheap and applied easily. 

I made this probably 30 years ago.  I have since then, applied oil based poly on my wood countertops and have small cutting boards for prep.  The current finish on the countertops is about 12 years old and shows no voids on the finish.  The countertops are birch and are not really hard enough, so there is some bruising of the substrate, but no cracking of the finish.

A light going over with 400 wet or dry would be all the prep I need when I decide to add another coat. 

If I were making a new kitchen, I would have pullouts with cutting boards in several locations. 

I did buy commercial sized resin cutting boards from Costco years ago, but they were too large to fit in my dishwasher.  I cut them in half and I have six now.  Plus one large one.

Less work all around this way.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I have made a few different mixes over the years. At first, just Linseed Oil and Beeswax, mostly just as an easy wiping finish. I had been using a commercially made product, noticing that it always thickened, in the can, over time. After fixing it a few times, I started making my own.
When I started making end grain cutting boards again, I went to a non-drying mix, with more wax. This makes it a creamy, rather than liquid, maintenance product. Some Orange Oil works as a solvent too, and add some nice scent
Lately, I've been messing with something more tool oriented. Mineral Spirits helps, since it evaporates, rather than just sitting there. Mineral Oil gets absorbed by wood, not so much by cast iron.
Microcrystalline wax is a bit harder, longer wearing, but it has a higher melting point, so I only use a little as an additive.
This can be a bit of a rabbit-hole...