Replies

1. 
   HowardAcheson | May 02, 2006 12:41am | #1

   What type of oil did you apply?  Boiled linseed oil and pure, real tung oil have very little watervapor resistance and should not have caused any cupping.

   Howie.........
2. 
   SgianDubh | May 02, 2006 01:27am | #2

   Roger, if it's a cupboard it will surely have something like doors that will enclose those shelves and other internal parts?

   If you've used pure oil finish like boiled linseed oil or pure tung oil you ought to think about the fact that these oils if used in enclosed spaces smell really bad-- something between a well established fungus and sweaty socks.

   You'll almost certainly need to apply some kind of film forming polish over the oil to prevent the smell. Shellac works quite well usually, and so does the (mostly) sprayed nitro-cellulose family of finishes. Slainte.

   Richard Jones Furniture

3. 
   JohnWW | May 02, 2006 01:29am | #3

   Roger,

   Once the other side is oiled, the shelves will straighten out if the only cause of the problem was the unequal absorption of moisture, nothing will be gained, or lost, by waiting.  However, any flatsawn board, no matter what the finish, will cup some as it gains or loses moisture, so some of the cupping is normal and to be expected, and will change with the seasons.

   John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine

1. 
   Roger | May 02, 2006 12:18pm | #4

   Thanks all for the advice.  The product I used was Liberon's Finishing Oil, an amalgam of thins.  I think its base is Danish Oil, and then with a host of other things.  There isn't a list of ingredients, but it's designed for use on worktops and bathroom furniture (should have been a give-away if I'd been thinking) so presume it is formulated to reduce or slow moisture transfer. 

   Thanks for the sanding sealer tip.  I've prepared a piece with a wax finish which seems to reduce the smell, but I'll now prepare a test piece with a sealer as well.

   Roger