# Question: What do table frogs say?



## Barry747 (Jun 16, 2011)

Answer: Trivit, trivit.

Ok. I've been self quarintined too long. However, my real question is, what type of finish do you put on a trivit assuming someone will put a hot dish or pot on it? 

I'm making a number of items that I'm donating to the Manatee County Food Bank (Florida) for a November fund raiser. I've never made trivits before and I'm using up some of my scrap for a good cause. That said, can any kind of finish on a wood trivit stand up to heat and, if so, how much? I can always stick a warning label on it but any kind of warning label may make it less appealing and we do want people to bid on them.

I'd appreciate any advice you can give me.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

none...


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Yup...me too...none...


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

If you inset something like ceramic tile into the top surface, standing proud of the top face that might be a solution to the heat/scorching issue.
It wouldn't have to cover the whole top, just spaced so that what ever's put on to it can't touch the wood. Glass marbles or ball bearings maybe?
Beach pebbles?


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

https://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Glue_and_Finish_for_a_Wood_Trivet.html

https://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Hot_Serving_Dishes_and_Wood_Finishes.html

Herb


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Barry747 said:


> Answer: Trivit, trivit.
> 
> Ok. I've been self quarintined too long. However, my real question is, what type of finish do you put on a trivit assuming someone will put a hot dish or pot on it?
> 
> ...


I put mineral oil on the trivets I make, have probably made 35-40 of them. A few were never going to be used and they requested a lacquer finish.

Oh, and the next advice I have is to get better riddles. :wink:

David


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

I would worry about the finish getting burned into the pot...


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Good point, Stick. And potentially, at some point, getting transferred to the surface of your ceramic cook top.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Stick486 said:


> I would worry about the finish getting burned into the pot...





DaninVan said:


> Good point, Stick. And potentially, at some point, getting transferred to the surface of your ceramic cook top.


It doesn't do either one. We have about 4 trivets that we've been using for years and they've never left any residue or markings on pots or the glass stove top. And I recoat them every year with fresh mineral oil. Not a problem - ymmv.

David


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

David; now that I think about it, I've put hot pots onto our wooden cutting board, with Mineral oil & bee's wax finish, without any damage to it. I guess it depends on how hot the utensil is. Putting a frying pan hot off the burner probably isn't the best idea...


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## Barry747 (Jun 16, 2011)

Thanks guys. Based on how the finished trivit looks, I'll either go with the bare wood or mineral oil. I've made many cutting boards and finsih them with mineral oil. For a final coat I use a homemade brew of mineral oil, bees wax and carnauba wax. Since wax and heat don't play well together I'd just leave off that final coat and use straight mineral oil. The way I'm making them is to get 2 trivits our of one glue up. I'll finish one and leave the other unfinished then ask the boss what she thinks. Thanks again.


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## Barry747 (Jun 16, 2011)

Well, I finished the prototypes. What I learned about the finishing is that bare wood is not a good idea. I finished the rounded one with mineral oil then put the unfinished one next to it. Turns out I didn't wipe my hands well enough and some of the mineral oil got onto the unfinished one. Looked like crap. That told me that a raw wood trivit would suck up any liquid that came near it so I mineral oiled the other one.

I made three mistakes with these trivits, all on the router. I used my router table with start and stop blocks. I moved the fence twice to cut all the slots. In the second picture, upper right hand corner you can see where I wasn't able to cleanly pick up the trivit and the bit cut out chunk. Also, if you look at that same groove you'll see it's not a clean cut, it's wobbly. That's what happens when you forget to lock down the motor after adjusting the bit.

In the third picture you'll notice that the length of the dados is not even. I didn't realize that when I move the fence back an inch it moved slightly laterally so my start and stop blocks weren't where they were supposed to be. 

My wife likes them and doesn't care about the mistakes. I do, so I'll probably make another set being more careful and taking into consideration the lessons learned with these.


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