February 7, 2012

Posts Comments

You are here: Home / Archives for Blog / Finishing

Sanding between coats of shellac

April 14, 2010 By

Some will possibly disagree; however, the results speak for themselves. I prefer to use 600 grit paper to sand between coats of  dewaxed shellac used to seal white oak:

Enjoying the journey.

As I have mentioned before, one key item in a finishing schedule is having the right sandpaper, like 3M’s 216U Fre-Cut™ Gold. I discussed the use of this paper in an earlier article; but I still must remember how critical it is to have the proper tools to do the job. And in finishing, this paper is an essential tool. The surface of the white oak is silk smooth after sanding. The smooth surface will telegraph into the sprayed varnish, yielding a very nice, smooth finish. Who said waterborne coatings were difficult to use?

Note: Sealing the surface of white oak and (especially) red oak is essential when using waterborne coatings. Avoid applying (typically) high-pH waterborne coatings directly on the raw wood surface of high-tannin woods like red and white oak, as pin-holing and bridging are likely to develop; that would make it difficult to get a nice, smooth finish.

Next: Attaching the top, and start spraying the varnish.

— Al Navas

Filed Under: Blog, Finishing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Readying the drawboring pins, and applying finish to the dust cover

March 4, 2010 By

As I stepped out of the shop, I noticed the temperature gauge in the shade, on the wall of the wooden shed:

The thermometer caught my eye.

I had to look. Confirmed! I might be able to get away with spraying some lacquer today. The temperature was just above 40°F:

The first time over 40°F in weeks!

In the shop, on the outer wall to the finishing room, the thermometer has held between 66°F and 68°F for the last several weeks:

Master thermo-hygrometer, on finishing room wall.

The remote unit, near the West wall, and on the lumber rack, showed a slightly lower temperature, but still acceptable to spray the finish:

Remote thermo-hygro, at lumber rack.

In the finishing room, with all the equipment set up and ready to go, I started adjustments on the spray pattern, and air and liquid flow – I like to use craft paper as the target to make the adjustments:

Adjusting air and liquid flow, for optimum spray pattern.

During the Winter months I use a small ceramic heater in the finishing room; I use it to keep the temperature at 73°-74°F. It is powerful enough to keep the temperature in the room at 73°F with the 2,200 CFM exhaust fan running. In Winter I am typically limited to about 12-15 minutes of spray time before the temperature in the open part of the shop drops several degrees as the make up air comes in through a window. I should have waited until tomorrow, or the day after, to spray, as the outdoor temperatures will be in the high 40s; but why not today? Aw, heck, just get it done!

Following a short session spraying the lacquer, I moved on to preparing the pins I will use in drawboring the joints. I found a huge amount of oak dowels at the local home center, and proceeded to select those with the straightest grain (I don’t own a plate, to make my own pins). To minimize measurement errors, I decided to use one piece of dowel, pre cut to 2-3/4 inches, to measure all the others:

Measuring drawbore pins.

I have been readying the band saw for a presentation on resawing lumber to our Guild next week; as a result, the guides and blade are off the 17-inch machine. Why not use the Kenyon replica dovetail saw (made by Mike Wenzloff) to cut the pins to size? Of course! That made sense:

Cutting pins, using dovetail saw.

Some people prefer to cut with the dowel vertical to the workbench:

Another way to cut the pins.

I had a great day in the shop. The outside temperatures and the sunshine have been a welcome addition to the time spent in the shop. Have you:

  • Been able to do much work in your shop, or is it too cold?
  • Applied any finishes during the cold Winter months, or are some projects waiting for warmer weather?

Drop me a note to let me know about your time in the shop during the last several cold weeks.

— Al Navas

.

Filed Under: Blog, Finishing, Joinery, Mortise, Tenon Tagged With: , , ,

It is just a workbench

March 3, 2010 By

My workbench is just a workbench. Of course, I did not always think so; it was so nice and clean when I first bought it, but it’s not that way now. Over the years it has become a work “area”, a work horse of a fixture in the shop.

I mention this because two readers wrote me a note after they read recent articles about finishing components of a desk I am working on. They  asked if I always use the workbench to apply finish to components of an item I am working on. My answer is “it depends”.

For example, if I have items in the finishing room, I will use the workbench to apply finish; currently I have the large dust cover on the turntable in the finishing room, waiting for a warm(er) day when I can open the windows in the shop to allow makeup air to replace the air blown out by the exhaust fan. As I have been finishing only in the shop, all the dust has settled quite well; applying finish is a nice experience in the open shop, with barely-audible music in the background, and concentrating on the job.

Yesterday I applied a few wash coats of alcohol-based shellac to the quarter-sawn white oak aprons, and I used the workbench. I used some plastic sheets on the workbench, though, as I don’t want any coating film on the surface of the bench:

A workbench... for work.

I managed to get some shellac on the workbench top, as the plastic sheet had some small holes I missed. That’s fine, as I will simply scrape them off later. It is, after, only my workbench.

Lest you misunderstand me, I want to explain a little of the background, and why I feel the workbench should be treated as “just” a workbench. In early 2008 I discovered the bench top had developed a bad crown that did not allow things to sit flat on it:

Should I flatten it...?

I struggled for a couple of days, putting off the inevitable. And then I took things into my own hands, literally, and flattened the bench top – a hard decision, but it had to be done:

But it must be done...!

I invite you to watch the video I made during the flattening process. From start to finish, it took me 42 minutes to flatten the bench top – and my muscles reminded me of that workout for several days after! But I learned an important lesson that day; a workbench is a work area, and I learned I must treat it just like any other tool in the shop. If I have it, I will use it.

As I leave the shop, I like to look around, to see if the snow has caused any damage to tree or building. I saw some snow had started to melt, and was frozen in mid-stream during the night hours. Change is definitely in the air, as the warming trend continues in NW Missouri:

Floating snow...?

I would like to hear from you about your workbench:

  • Did you make your own bench? Or did you buy it?
  • Do you baby your workbench, or is it a workhorse in your shop?

— Al Navas

Filed Under: Blog, Finishing, Workbench Tagged With: ,

Page optimized by WP Minify WordPress Plugin