Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)
I made these months ago. This was the prototype, I didn't use the same wood or even design when I made the others.
I used Danish oil followed by wax and the smell just wouldn't go away. The first time my son tried it out he said the candy smelled bad. I realized the outgassing of the Danish oil was wafting up into the bottle containing the candy and making them smell terrible.I asked for help on our forums and got some great advice. I was told to try shellac to seal the wood and trap the smell. It was recommended that I order flakes rather than using shellac out of a can. I found a place called the Shellac Shack that sold a 1 lb. sample pack of shellac. They had 6 colors to choose from of which you could pick 4. I ordered the 4 middle colors and watched some videos on how it was done.One recommendation was to grind the flakes in a coffee grinder. We happened to have a brand new one on a shelf that we never used and I snatched it. Once ground up it took less than a half hour to be completely dissolved and ready to use.I had to take everything apart that wasn't glued together for access to the inside. I carefully drilled out the plugs so I could get access to the screws holding the top and bottom on.
Then I wiped everything down with lacquer thinner and put on a couple of coats of shellac. All the dispensers had to be refinished, but now there are corners and protrusions to deal with. I tried the pad method and that left small puddles around any protrusion so I switched to a brush so I could get into corners and around anything that wasn't flat.I found that this would leave small puddles that when a second coat was put on it would darken in those spots and show up even more. I really struggled to get a finish I wanted. When I tried the shellac on another project that had flat panels it worked like a charm and was one of the easiest finishes I've ever tried.I can't seem to get a picture that shows what it really looks like, it is much more noticeable in person. I also got some damage when I had to drill out the plugs to take things apart, this project kicked my butt but they still came out pretty good and I know the people that get them won't even notice.
I know a lot of people here use shellac and must run into the same problems I did unless they finish everything before it all gets put together. If anyone has any suggestions on how to avoid these problems I sure would appreciate hearing about them.