"B Man" wrote in message
...

I have two questions though - how durable is it? Would Tung Oil be ok for
a
cherry dining room table I thinking about? How is it for turnings - can
you
lathe-apply the finish?

I'm cheating by looking into the excellent book "Understanding wood
finishing" by Bob Flexner. This is a very good reference on the whole topic
of finishing woods. He has a chapter on oil finishes. I'll take a risk of
summarizing salient comments on various "oil" finishes.

1. Pure oil finishes are not durable and offer little protection.
2. Oil/varnish is easy to apply, but does not protect against water, water
vapor exchange and wear. It is a poor choice for table top.
3. Wiping varnish is "potentially excellent protection, if built up".

I'd avoid tung oil for your dining room table. I highly recommend the book.
He spends quite a bit of effort calling out myths in wood finishing and
calling out the facts. He also has a lot of practical tips on choice,
application, and repair of wood finishes.

Bob