oil inside drawers

[TomFromStLouis]

is considered a terrible idea because the drawer will always smell like oil, right?

Can someone explain why? Does an oil finish never really truly and finally cure? I've noticed that my S&W polymerized tung oil finish - which yields a look I really like - smells for about 2 or 3 months (according to my wife's very sensitive nose), but then pressing my less sensitive nose right on the finish the wood no longer has that odor. Hasn't it then cured?

I realize they say some of van Gogh's paintings are still drying, but that is very thickly applied oil. We are applying very thin layers that seems to me should eventually completely cure and thus not smell, so why can't I use this oil inside a box or drawer and let it cure in open air for, say, 3 months?

[KnotHaid]

Oils dry from the outside in. Woods tend to breath. The process slows down once the outer coat shells up. Over time the vapors deeper in the wood leach out.

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BTW, I prefer shellac or lacquer inside any closed space for these reasons. The driers in them work very quickly. Generally smell-less in days.

[Rob Young]

Use the oil if you like.

Let it cure with good air flow for 30 days or more.

Topcoat with blonde shellac and never worry about the smell again.

[TomFromStLouis]

Thank you both.