Last nights meeting of the Atlantic Woodworkers Association was an informational and entertaining one. We were treated to the seemingly endless wisdom of Mel Larsen, the Canadian representative of SIA Abrasives.

SIA Abrasives, with their head office in Frauenfeld, Switzerland, is the oldest manufacturer of coated abrasives in the world and a popular choice among woodworkers. Their noticeable yellow sandpaper is commonplace in many home workshops as well as widely used in industry applications including wood, automotive and metal.

Mel took a different approach for this presentation than he has taken in the past. Instead of focusing on the SIA product line and its use he took a broader view and spoke on wood and the steps to take to create a quality finish as well as the pitfalls and concerns.

Here, in point form, are the notes I was able to make from this fast-paced, tip-laden presentation:

Continue reading 'A Sand Storm Sweeps The AWA'

In my quest to find the perfect finish… ah, it’s every woodworker’s dream… but seriously, as I mentioned in earlier posts I’m in the process of trying different finishes so I picked up the double whammy combo of U-Beaut’s Shellawax Cream and EEE-Ultra Shine.

These products give a finish that looks like a French polish that brings out lights and grain in the wood. It adds a whole new dimension to a turned item in a matter of seconds. Sounds too good to be true, but it is. They were initially designed for use on high end, exhibition, museum, gallery and collectors quality, woodturned items.

Shellawax Cream is a friction polish that also doubles as a buffing polish. On the lathe it gives a brilliant shine in seconds, can be handled immediately, is non toxic and water resistant. On woodcarvings and flat surfaces it gives a rich deep shine in a matter of minutes. It is a fusion mixture of pharmaceutical grade white shellac and a number of highly refined, non-toxic waxes with a shelf life of several years.

EEE-Ultra Shine is a cut and polish paste wax containing Tripoli powder, an ultra fine abrasive. The polish is designed to be used in conjunction with the Shellawax Cream.

Continue reading 'U-Beaut Shellawax And UltraShine Polish'

Since I am quite pleased with the last finishes that I bought I thought I would try a new finish, something with more of a shine. I decided on the Turner’s Polish from Lee Valley:

It is a shellac-based lacquer formula that is made especially for use in woodturning and it produces a very hard, high-luster finish.

It is applied with a lint-free cloth pad while your turning rotates at a low speed on the lathe.

You can use shellac/lacquer thinner for diluting the first coat or to increase gloss in the final coat.

Back to the shop…

I picked up a couple of new finishes today. I have never been one to spend much time on finishes but as I move towards projects that are more suited to natural finishes I thought I’d try a few. The two I bought today are very similar:

Clapham’s Beeswax Salad Bowl Finish
This easy-to-use finish is safe for salad bowls, cutting boards, cheese boards, etc.
It is a blend of two food-safe materials, beeswax and mineral oil. After a thin coat is applied, the item can be used immediately or left overnight and buffed to a low sheen.
Continue reading 'Beeswax Based Finishes'

This week my wife refinished our kitchen table. We bought it 6-7 years ago and since then it had picked up a few scratches and heat marks. It is 7 feet long with 8 chairs and made of red oak with a natural finish.

We bought it from a Menonite furniture shop that is located a couple of hours from here in a rural area. They did a fantastic job at very, very reasonable prices. Unfortunately, the finish was not as durable as we had hoped for. It marked very easily and anything hot, like a coffee cup, that was set on the table left a mark.

She started sanding it with 60 grit to remove the finish and continued up to 220 grit. Then she finished it with 10 coats of Varathane Professional Clear Coat, lightly sanding with 220 between each coat.

Here is the table before the new finish:

Continue reading 'Kitchen Table Refinishing'