George Vondriska

Simple Trick for Dispensing Mineral Oil on Wood

George Vondriska
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Why put mineral oil on wood? The biggest reason is that it’s an excellent food-safe finish. For many woodworkers, mineral oil is the go-to sealer for cutting boards and wooden kitchen utensils; anything that may come in contact with food. It’s so easy to apply, easy to get (any pharmacy will have it, or you can order it here), and it works great.

A rag or foam brush will easily take care of spreading the finish around when you use mineral oil on wood but, admittedly, the bottle it comes in doesn’t naturally lend itself to applying a little mineral oil here, and a little there. Without the great tip we show you in this video, it’s easy (too easy) to accidentally dump a boatload of oil in one spot. Way more than you need. No sense wasting the stuff, ,so check out the easy approach for making mineral oil bottles more user friendly.

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If you like this tip, you’re going to love the other great woodshop tips that WoodWorkers Guild of America has for you. From finishing to gluing to working more efficiently, we’re here to help you out.

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2 Responses to “Simple Trick for Dispensing Mineral Oil on Wood”

  1. Jeff

    I have had good luck over-saturating the board with mineral oil while sitting on a cookie sheet. I typically buy the larger bottles (1 gal), but I will just pour the mineral oil over the board, and then capture the spillage / drips from the bottom side of the board in a cookie sheet / pan, using a funnel to get it back in the bottle. You can re-use it several times this way, and the only "lost" mineral oil is the oil that is stuck inside the board.

  2. Edward

    I like the other idea, take l the dampener's for ketchup and mustard, found in grocery stores and fill it with any oil and you control a small amount or large.

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