On Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:40:37 -0800, Kevin Miller wrote:

On 10/20/2010 04:30 PM, Russ Stanton wrote:
I am turning some peppermills for Christmas gifts for my sons. I am
using Cherry, Cocobolo, Zebrawood and Canary. I am partial to oil type
finishes such as Libron or Walnut or Tung Oil but am not sure about
using that for something that will see at lot of hand contact while
cooking and drinking.

Any suggestions? TIA

Russ

I'd go with something like Formby's Tung Oil Finish. It's not pure Tung
Oil, but an oil/varnish mix (or I wiping varnish - can't remember
which). Goes on thin so you can build the amount sheen you want, but
dries hard so hand contact shouldn't be an issue...

Tried & True has a similar oil varnish mix that is totally non-toxic.
That's what I would use. See:

http://www.triedandtruewoodfinish.com/varnish.htm

I don't work for them, I ran into their products while working part time
at Woodcraft. I tried them and liked them.

Another possibility would be dewaxed shellac. A little more durable and,
if made from flakes, also non-toxic.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw