Rockler To Fellow Makers: Easy Being Green

Originally, I planned to write about spring and outdoor projects — but then I remembered it's still March. And since Rockler was born and raised in Minnesota, where winter drags on forever, I figured that might not be the kindest topic for our Northern Makers. If you haven't been to Minnesota in the winter… don't. Seriously.

So instead, let's talk about things that work well while you're still inside, and also fit with the theme of spring renewal — Green Finishing.

Green can mean a lot of things. Depending on who you ask, it could refer to sustainability, safety, tradition, or simply a return to natural materials.

A long time ago everything was "green" or "natural" as we did not have the capability to make synthetics or compound chemicals.

Ancient Egyptians pioneered early wood finishes, likely using a mix of tree resins and essential oils — plus a lot of gold leaf if you happened to be royalty.

China is considered first in developing finishes that we still use today, like linseed and tung oil, derived from the flaxseed and tung tree respectively.

Later, these would be combined with natural waxes, resins from plants & trees (copal, amber, pine...), insects (shellac is derived from female lac bug), and solvents such as alcohol and turpentine (also made from pine) –– and sometimes lead and other less savory ingredients.

Is it "food safe"? Is it "natural"? Is it "eco-friendly"? It's not so clear cut.

A great example of this gray area is butcher block oil. Many are just mineral oil, sometimes with a citrus oil added. Most mineral oil is food-safe and technically natural (it's a petroleum byproduct), but it's not exactly eco-friendly.

Speaking of citrus oil — there's a global citrus greening disease wiping out citrus trees, and there's no cure. If you love lemon or orange oil in your finishes (or, you know, in your food), it may not be around forever.

Without consciously choosing "green", I gravitated toward more "traditional" finishes. Personally, many modern finishes felt 'factory'. For me, having a physical feel for the wood, seeing the actual piece of wood; raw but preserved. I tend not to use stains and other obscuring wood treatments — except, of course, for gold leaf, which is technically natural. 😉.

For example, when I make bowls and utensils, I finish them with walnut oil — because if I'm using it to eat, it made sense to use a finish I’d also eat? And now there are even more great (and edible) food safe finishes available!

P.S. I carved the bowl and some of the utensils below from a tree I felled and shaped with only my hands, sweat and obviously axe, adze, knives, gouges... (youth, ha!).

Another natural, old-school finish is Milk Paint, which yes is a paint, but can still have grain show through and additionally is nice on less than gorgeous lumber. Originally, I used simple milk paint on my "inexpensive" pine kitchen table (that also doubles as my desk and workbench and...600 sqft living), but I'd nick it with my chisel and colour would scratch (duh). Easy to fix, but I love experimenting.

While living in Denmark I made this birch chair (from one board!) and finished it with traditional soap finish. The light finish is soft, lets the grain show through, plus its soap so it's easy to clean! And turns out it makes a great kitchen table/desk/workbench finish.

With pieces that are going to see more wear and perhaps have a grain that wants to show off... Shellac! You can control the thickness by adjusting the ratio of shellac flakes to alcohol and depending on how many layers you build up, it really shines. Trust me, I just took bad photos.

Another classic finish, especially for cedar and outdoor work, is cedar oil. Cedar wood and oil are great for repelling insects and rot. This work came from a collaborative project in Mexico, using nearby materials, we carved and gilded this cedar ring as the focus piece for a table.

These are just examples of my explorations and experiences, not prescriptive or definitive research. To Fellow Makers is meant to be an ongoing conversation — about projects, ideas, and figuring things out as we go.

Finishing is just one aspect of woodworking and making that can be considered Green. We work with organizations like the Hardwood Forestry Fund and carry Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood products as we all want to make sure we have strong tree growth for many years to come. There are many organizations out there if you want to learn more.

Ending with a quote by one of my favourite green people, Kermit (the frog):

But green's the color of spring
And green can be cool and friendly-like
And green can be big like an ocean
Or important like a mountain
Or tall like a tree

P.S. for more depth check out this article by master finisher Michael Dresdner. He also wrote a great book about a different type of green in woodworking: Turning Green Wood!