Great addition

[DaveO]

This forum is a great addition to a site already full of good information and tips. Ya'll know I had to be the first to post something here.

Mountaincraft, great suggestion and I am glad that Steve was around to make it so, so quickly. So let's start out with 2 questions.

First, we need a moderator for this forum, who is interested?

Second, I need suggestions for a great curly maple finish. I am leaning toward a spit coat of shellac, some BLO and/or Waterlox and finishing with rubbed out lacquer or wax. Any thoughts?

Thanks, Dave

 

[Ozzie-x]

Your ideas sound good to me, pretty reliable. My last issue of Fine Woodworking has some stain & dye finishing techniques to "punch up" figured grain as I remember. I don't endorse or curse it, but it's there. I've seen other recipes for figured grains but can'y recall where. My experience with dyes hasn't been very good. About everything I do gets Danish oil & laquer.

 

[DaveO]

Yea, I am a huge fan of Danish Oil and lacquer myself. After the ungodly amount of time I have spent on this jewelry box I thought that I could step up my finishing schedule a notch and try to do it some justice. But I wonder if there is any merit in what I am planning vs. my old tested methods.
Also, I am not sure of the major differences between Waterlox (the reported almighty finish) and a Danish Oil or 3 part home brew. I've used Waterlox and it smells bad and takes longer to dry between coats, where Danish Oil is ready to bring in the house in a few hours.

Dave

 

[Ozzie-x]

I think Waterlox in a member of the varnish family, I haven't even looked at it in years. When I did my student teaching 100 years ago, my mentor teacher used Waterlox because it was really shiny, and the kids liked for their projects to be really shiny. The time and "no fuss" aspects of Danish oil & laquer are hard to beat, makes a great looking finish. Years ago I used tung oil and it took forever to dry (sometimes if ever, would still get sticky in hot weather.) By the time it dried, it was often full of bugs. I think those experiences drove me to the laquer fold. The only "oddball" finishing technigues I use are ammonia fuming for the mission oak pieces, and it's really no big deal once you've made the fuming chamber, easy, works great.

 

[golfdad]

Dave the last table I made with Curly Maple top I used BLO and about 4 coats of wipe on Poly. Grain was beautiful

 

[JohnsonMBrandon]

I am looking foward to this forum. Finishing is my weak point. Still have a lot to learn in this area.

 

[sapwood]

More thanks for adding this forum. And the timing is almost eerie :roll:
Bernhard was kind enough to share his copy of Jeff Jewitt's Finishing and a well organized printout about Target finishes and HVLP. I look forward to learning more about achieving a nice finish that doesn't alter the natural wood color. I've used Danish oil a few times and like it on dark woods, but it adds a yellow/amber tint to light woods.

Sapwood