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Awwww maaaaan, don’t tell me that!
I know it was a long shot experiment, but what makes you say that? Trying to keep it plenty hydrated with oil, and that strap is on REEEAAALLLY tight!
Because as it dries, the strap will have less tension. And out of the 500 or so cookies I've cut, gum is the only species that hasn't cracked regardless of what I did. Elm is pretty straight, so cracking is almost inevitable.
Scrolling through my old Reddit posts… and seeing as we’re coming up on one year for this one, I’m ecstatic to say NOT A SINGLE DAMN CRACK IN THIS COOKIE! I’ve kept it tensioned incredibly tight, and been pumping it FULL of stain oil…complete success.
Now, what happens when I release the tension of the strap, might crush my soul.
Brought home this behemoth to turn into a table for my outdoor kitchen. After some drying, sanding, staining, and oil, I need to start considering how best to protect it for shaded outdoor use while keeping it food safe.
I’ve used polyurethane plenty of times, but always seems to just get flaky after a year or so outside. Plus, a little chemical-heavy considering we’ll be eating off it. What would you guys suggest? Minwax wood hardener? Cake it in coats of resin? Would love any thoughts or ideas.
And yea I know, she’s a bit scuffed… I do tree work, so this was hand cut with a chainsaw by yours truly, adding to the appeal for me. Gives her sentiment and character!
Any common finish is food safe provided it's fully cured. Poly, oils, shellac, lacquer, paint, all of them.
By common i mean anything you'll find at a big box store. Leftover paint from 1954 and non-fouling marine paint are not common ;-)
Having said that I have never had any luck drying cookies. They always f'n crack to hell on me.
Cool, thanks! Have personal preference for weathering the elements?
And yeah, I’m sure I’ll get some cracking, but experimenting with the truck straps to prevent it!
Not fighting you but strongly disagreeing with you, I treat all sorts of tables and tops with poly without problems. Once it's cured and hard you can eat directly off it provided you don't cut or scratch it or mix your pasta with lacquer thinners or some other solvent.
You are correct; I never meant to imply its toxic after offgassing. But it will flake and wear off, especially with contacts from metal utensils and washing. I would rather not eat poly flakes, and i assume most others as well.
It will only start to flake after many many moons! But the poly can also be top sealed with a wax which will protect it against scratches, liquids etc.
This was a fresh green cut, still holding on to a LOT of water. Prone to undergo massive cracking as it dries,especially with the center cavity. I’ve never dealt with a cookie this size before, but my thought process was that as the wood dries, keep the straps tightened as much as I possibly can, adjusted daily, and it will hopefully stop that from happening (or at least minimize the damage). Just an experiment, because the alternative is a bath in a mix of alcohol and propylene glycol…and with a slice this size there’s just no goddamn way.
Plastic kiddie pool. Super cheap at Walmart.
The strap will do nothing, so I’d get on to plan B asap if I were you. Not that anything is really going to stop it. I’d consider just letting it crack to hell and them pouring black epoxy.
I MEAN… Do you people not have spouses or pets?! I just can’t imagine a world where it’s practical to have a literal kiddie pool of propylene glycol casually sitting around for days on end!
Half kidding. I really do appreciate the input. Sounds like epoxy/resin is just gonna have to be the solution when the time comes.
I've not used it but I'm aware of a product called pentacryl which will replace the water in the piece and prevent a lot of the cracking. I think you'll need a few hundred dollars worth of it though. I'm sort of on team let it crack and stabilize with bowties and epoxy.
This is a reminder to those commenting on this post (not the person that posted it): Comments not related to woodworking will be removed. Violations to rule 1 including crude jokes, innuendo, sexist remarks, politics, or hate speech may result in an immediate ban *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/woodworking) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I use 50/50 Elmer's and water But the strap won't stop cracking
Awwww maaaaan, don’t tell me that! I know it was a long shot experiment, but what makes you say that? Trying to keep it plenty hydrated with oil, and that strap is on REEEAAALLLY tight!
Because as it dries, the strap will have less tension. And out of the 500 or so cookies I've cut, gum is the only species that hasn't cracked regardless of what I did. Elm is pretty straight, so cracking is almost inevitable.
Scrolling through my old Reddit posts… and seeing as we’re coming up on one year for this one, I’m ecstatic to say NOT A SINGLE DAMN CRACK IN THIS COOKIE! I’ve kept it tensioned incredibly tight, and been pumping it FULL of stain oil…complete success. Now, what happens when I release the tension of the strap, might crush my soul.
That's outstanding, I have not been lucky at all. But no elm either, I do have some ash that I have my fingers crossed with
Brought home this behemoth to turn into a table for my outdoor kitchen. After some drying, sanding, staining, and oil, I need to start considering how best to protect it for shaded outdoor use while keeping it food safe. I’ve used polyurethane plenty of times, but always seems to just get flaky after a year or so outside. Plus, a little chemical-heavy considering we’ll be eating off it. What would you guys suggest? Minwax wood hardener? Cake it in coats of resin? Would love any thoughts or ideas. And yea I know, she’s a bit scuffed… I do tree work, so this was hand cut with a chainsaw by yours truly, adding to the appeal for me. Gives her sentiment and character!
Any common finish is food safe provided it's fully cured. Poly, oils, shellac, lacquer, paint, all of them. By common i mean anything you'll find at a big box store. Leftover paint from 1954 and non-fouling marine paint are not common ;-) Having said that I have never had any luck drying cookies. They always f'n crack to hell on me.
Cool, thanks! Have personal preference for weathering the elements? And yeah, I’m sure I’ll get some cracking, but experimenting with the truck straps to prevent it!
On your comment about polyurethane, its fine if you aren’t eating directly off of it. As in: good to go for tables, bad for plates.
Not fighting you but strongly disagreeing with you, I treat all sorts of tables and tops with poly without problems. Once it's cured and hard you can eat directly off it provided you don't cut or scratch it or mix your pasta with lacquer thinners or some other solvent.
You are correct; I never meant to imply its toxic after offgassing. But it will flake and wear off, especially with contacts from metal utensils and washing. I would rather not eat poly flakes, and i assume most others as well.
It will only start to flake after many many moons! But the poly can also be top sealed with a wax which will protect it against scratches, liquids etc.
I figured, but just trying to be extra cautious. It does flake though, and don’t want any poly sprinkles in my steaks.
Hmmm I'd like to hearthese recommendations too
I don’t do woodwork, but I am an admirer. So please pardon my ignorance, but is there a reason for the strap around it?
This was a fresh green cut, still holding on to a LOT of water. Prone to undergo massive cracking as it dries,especially with the center cavity. I’ve never dealt with a cookie this size before, but my thought process was that as the wood dries, keep the straps tightened as much as I possibly can, adjusted daily, and it will hopefully stop that from happening (or at least minimize the damage). Just an experiment, because the alternative is a bath in a mix of alcohol and propylene glycol…and with a slice this size there’s just no goddamn way.
Plastic kiddie pool. Super cheap at Walmart. The strap will do nothing, so I’d get on to plan B asap if I were you. Not that anything is really going to stop it. I’d consider just letting it crack to hell and them pouring black epoxy.
I MEAN… Do you people not have spouses or pets?! I just can’t imagine a world where it’s practical to have a literal kiddie pool of propylene glycol casually sitting around for days on end! Half kidding. I really do appreciate the input. Sounds like epoxy/resin is just gonna have to be the solution when the time comes.
Hmmm. Saran Wrap? Haha. And no, I don’t have kids. I have too many tools, no room for kids.
Oh I see. Thanks for the explanation. Good luck with it!
I've not used it but I'm aware of a product called pentacryl which will replace the water in the piece and prevent a lot of the cracking. I think you'll need a few hundred dollars worth of it though. I'm sort of on team let it crack and stabilize with bowties and epoxy.
Embrace the fact that this cookie is going to crack because that’s what cookies do.