Beeswax & Mineral Oil Wood Finish

I am still working on the sign I made for my son's room.  Yesterday, I put a natural finish on the sign backing.  The result of the beeswax and mineral oil finish I used is simply divine.  Looks good, feels better! Bonus, my husband thinks the board smells like honey now. Yum!

This recipe is totally natural, you can use it for any wood in your home, including butcher block cutting boards and counter tops.  So if you have leftover finish, polish up your house!

What you need:
A hunk of beeswax
A bottle of mineral oil
An old sock or thread bare dish towel, or whatever application rag floats your boat.
A pan or pot (one you aren't using for food that will work as a double boiler top)
A plastic scraper of some sort (I used an offset painters knife)
Sandpaper

Step One:
Give your project a good sanding.  I went all the way to 600 grit because I didn't want my rag snagging in the wood grain when I was applying the finish.  But, this was total overkill.  Go to 220 and you will be just fine.

Step Two:
Make the finish. I used a 60/40 ratio of mineral oil to beeswax.  You can adjust the proportions to get the consistency you like.  Too hard?  Reheat and add more mineral oil.  Too soft?  Reheat and add more beeswax.  Tip:  harder is better for jobs like protecting and lubricating saw blades (rub it on the teeth of your backsaw and cut some dovetails. So awesome.) 

Using a double boiler (your junky pan on top of the pot you are using to boil the water in), melt your beeswax.  Add the mineral oil (sidebar: cool science, the mineral oil solidifies as soon as it hits the beeswax! Neat!).  Stir well with whatever you have on hand (a paint stick or scrap sticks work nicely).  When the mixture is thoroughly blended and all clear, remove from heat and take to your workplace.

Step Three:
I let the mixture cool for a few minutes and then used a plastic painters knife to mix it around, scraping the sides of the pan as I went and keeping the mixture together in a blob. Once it was cool enough to handle, I put a dollop inside an old sock. The mixture squished out of the threadbare sock so I could apply it lightly and evenly to the whole board.

Step Four
Apply the beeswax and mineral oil mixture onto your project by rubbing it on in small circles.  Just look at the difference already!!  So shiny!

Step Five
Now you just have to wait a bit.  Once you have applied your wax to the entire board, it will look like the photo below.  All shiny with small swirls still visible. I went inside to eat some dinner while my wax soaked in to the board.

Step Six
Buff!  Get a clean sock or another disposable soft clean rag and buff the piece in small circles.  The excess wax will ball up as you go. Keep refolding the clean rag so you are actually buffing excess off instead of just spreading it around. 

Step Seven
Admire your work!  This board is so smooth, and water beads up on it so nicely!  I wish I had butcher block counters so I could use more wax in my house!

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More uses!
Our family got the toboggan out today so we could go hunt wood in the forest.  I wanted to find some great old stumps for another project I am working on.  Our large toboggan had certainly seen better days - the wood was flaking and in terrible shape.  Enter the leftover mixture I had from this post.  That toboggan has NEVER looked better, and it slid along the snow like butter on butter.  So, if you have an old sled laying around that needs some love - give it the beeswax and mineral oil treatment!

How did this work for you? 








 

Drawer Pull Stencil Guide

Have you ever tried to install a drawer pull?  Have you ever screwed it up?  I have. 

I have screwed up so royally that, even though the handle is ON, you can still see the screws...I would post the picture so you can see what I mean, but I am too ashamed.

I even bought one of those handy dandy guides that they sell in hardware stores, but those only work if you want to install within an inch of the top of the drawer, or if you have magical powers.  I wanted drawer pulls installed just above center horizontally - and I am no magician.

I needed a solution before attempting to install my next drawer pull.  So, here it is.  An easily customizable guide you can make yourself!  No more screws showing!  No more eye rolls from my husband!

Supplies you will need:
Clear "Cut Your Own Stencils" sheets (I purchased at Michaels, the brand is "Plaid")
Self Healing Cutting Mat
Carpenters Square
Tape
Sharpie
Drawer Pull
Hammer
Scrap Block
Xacto Blade or other cutting blade
Large Nail
Pencil
Drill Guide (totally optional)

Step One
Cut a piece of the stencil for your guide. Carefully align the stencil on top of the lines on the cutting mat.  You want a straight and square piece so it is easy to line up later.  Tape the stencil sheet to the cutting mat so it won't shift around and go out of alignment.  And, if you are like me and not sure of how steady you can hold the straight edge while using a sharp knife - go ahead and tape the straight edge down, too!

Step Two
Take the piece of stencil you just cut and line it up on your cutting mat, again keeping it straight on the lines.  Then place your drawer pull on top of it using the guide lines.  This way the handle is straight in line with the edge of the stencil sheet. 

Then tape the the handle down, keeping it straight...

Step 3
Pick it up, flip it over and use your Sharpie to mark the hole locations.

Step Four
Remove the handle and put the stencil on top of your scrap wood block.  The drive the nail through the holes you marked with a hammer.

Step Five
Now you have a stencil sheet with holes right where your drawer pull holes are!  But we aren't quite done yet.  Your stencil now has little protrusions in the back where the nail exited. Get rid of those so your stencil will lay flat when you put it on the drawer.  I used my knife to shave the protrusions right off.  Careful to not rip bigger holes!

Step Six
You want to add a cross to your stencil.  These lines will help you line up your stencil on any drawer front, no matter what size it is!  Make sure the lines are PERFECTLY straight.  Crooked lines will = crooked drawer pull!

 Double check they are perfectly straight by using your square on every edge and at the intersection where the lines meet...

You can now go to your drawer front.  Use a pencil and make a vertical line at the center of the drawer.  Then choose the level on the horizontal where you want your drawer pull to be.  Draw a perfectly straight line horizontally on your drawer at that level.  So, now you should have a cross on your drawer.  Then put the cross on the stencil on top of the cross on your drawer. 

Now, using a pencil through the lines on your stencil, mark the hole locations on the drawer.  Remove the stencil and you can drill your holes and install the drawer pull.  If you want even more certainty, use a drill guide...

This handy device keeps your drill bit perfectly straight while you drill your hole.  Because, nothing would suck more than doing all of this work only to hold your drill at an angle and have your dang screws showing after you install your drawer pull!

How did this work out for you??

The AVIATOR

My wonderful friend built a small wooden biplane and gave it to my son on his first birthday.  When she was done, she wondered aloud to her husband what to name the plane.  Her husbands response...

My son's name is Avi (pronounced: ah-VEE).  So you can see why I think that this is quite possibly the most clever name and design in history.  It is also the cutest little plane I have ever seen.  My friend built it - out of wood and I love it and Avi loves it.  So, it is only natural that for his third birthday we take this plane and create an entire room.

Today, I made a sign.

 

It isn't done yet, but I was too excited to wait to post this!  I will post instructions for how to do it yourself, but you can probably tell it was easy peasy!  The worst part was trying to not inhale as I applied that dark stain on the back panel.  Even outside, the vapors were intense.  I have a total toxic fume headache now.

I was going to add the little plane seen above the "V" on the sign, but decided it was too "babyish".  I think this sign is SO cool, I really hope he keeps it on his wall until he is at least ten, so baby looking planes are not allowed.

I feel torn over the letter colors: do I leave them white, or find a really great color that will stand the test of time against the dark stained wood?? Decisions!!

Another AMAZING addition to the room is definitely this:

A gift from Aunt Sara...a perfect replica of a WWI plane propeller with a clock in it!  Apparently the pilots of those planes used to crash quite a bit, and they would take home the propeller and have a clock mounted inside...so this is quite the gift!!  And it is BEAUTIFUL!


Next up on the Aviator's room project, mommy needs to build....

A full on airplane SHELF.  So rad!!  I have plans sketched up and am excited to figure this one out!  Yay!


Next time I will post the instructions for the sign and also (very exciting!!) how to make a PERFECT template for your cabinet door handles and drawer pulls!

UPDATE...
The sign is DONE!!  Really happy with the final result. Used the beeswax and mineral oil finish and it looks so amazing on here!  Now all I have to do is hang this up in my son's room, where it will hopefully hang until he is 100 years old...