How I finish most projects

Most of the time I finish my projects using a very simple formula that I make myself.  It is composed of Walnut oil and bees wax.  I melt bees wax into hot Walnut oil and let it cool.  You can see in the picture that it becomes a semi-thick paste.  I simply wipe it on and let it dry, then I buff it with a soft cloth.  Usually I put on three coats allowing them to dry in between applications.  

When I am turning wood on my lathe I apply the paste to the wood and rub it in while the lathe is turning.  This is like a friction polish; the heat from the turning lathe helps the wax get deeper into the wood than if you simply rub it on a static surface.  

Walnut oil is food safe even for people with nut allergies.  The processing of the raw nut oil removes whatever the contents that cause allergies.  Another feature of Walnut oil is that it is a drying oil; it actually dries and hardens in the top layers of the wood.  There are other drying oils, but Walnut oil is among the fastest.  Additionally, it does not change the color of the wood as other oils can do.

Every so often I simply apply another coat and rub it in and buff it to a new shine.

I get the oil from the grocery store and the bees wax from Amazon.  You can look up many recipes on the web.