Hi All,
Making a cradle for our daughter out of Butternut and Cherry but not sure of
best finish. Thinking about Formby's Tung Oil (about 8 coats) but not sure
about top finish. Will Minwax Finishing Wax be O-K or is it toxic or not
acceptable for any reason? Not set up for spraying any finish so that's
out, actually I prefer Tung Oil because it brings out the grain almost in
3D.
Haven't assembled it yet so I'm open to all ideas from the experts.
Got the plan from Furnitureplans.com. No, I didn't the SWMBO picked it out
and insisted that was THE plan she liked. Tinkled me, I got to order a new
Shopfox Mortising Machine for the spindles. Convinced her that round
mortise and tenons wouldn't work. "Gloat"?
Thanks All,
Al in WA
Al in WA soon MT wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Making a cradle for our daughter out of Butternut and Cherry but not sure of
> best finish. Thinking about Formby's Tung Oil (about 8 coats) but not sure
> about top finish. Will Minwax Finishing Wax be O-K or is it toxic or not
> acceptable for any reason? Not set up for spraying any finish so that's
> out, actually I prefer Tung Oil because it brings out the grain almost in
> 3D.
>
> Haven't assembled it yet so I'm open to all ideas from the experts.
>
> Got the plan from Furnitureplans.com. No, I didn't the SWMBO picked it out
> and insisted that was THE plan she liked. Tinkled me, I got to order a new
> Shopfox Mortising Machine for the spindles. Convinced her that round
> mortise and tenons wouldn't work. "Gloat"?
>
> Thanks All,
> Al in WA
>
>
Well with the cherry, nothing beats the warmth of shellac and several
coats of a good wax. Then look at it this way. If it's safe for medicine
and fruits and veggies it will be safe on a cradle.
8 coats of Formby's might get a little soft. I've used it before, and it is
a good varnish, but 4 coats is plenty. For a small project like a cradle
Formby's isn't too cost prohibitive, but for larger pieces I generally like
to use Waterlox Original Sealer/Finish (
http://www.waterlox.com/product.cfm?productid=5 ) for that reason. The
Formby's is almost clear, while the Waterlox is slightly amber and both are
excellent products IME. Oh and I'd also probably apply an undercoat or two
of straight boiled linseed oil first, to really pop the cherry, but this is
optional.
Experimenting on scrap and deciding what *you* prefer is the best advice I
can give, though.
Brian.
"Al in WA soon MT" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi All,
>
> Making a cradle for our daughter out of Butternut and Cherry but not sure
of
> best finish. Thinking about Formby's Tung Oil (about 8 coats) but not
sure
> about top finish. Will Minwax Finishing Wax be O-K or is it toxic or not
> acceptable for any reason? Not set up for spraying any finish so that's
> out, actually I prefer Tung Oil because it brings out the grain almost in
> 3D.
>
> Haven't assembled it yet so I'm open to all ideas from the experts.
>
> Got the plan from Furnitureplans.com. No, I didn't the SWMBO picked it
out
> and insisted that was THE plan she liked. Tinkled me, I got to order a
new
> Shopfox Mortising Machine for the spindles. Convinced her that round
> mortise and tenons wouldn't work. "Gloat"?
>
> Thanks All,
> Al in WA
>
>
I second the Waterlox for the cradle. I made one out of cherry for my
son and at the suggestion of Larry Jaques here on the Rec, I used the
Waterlox to finish. The finish is absolutely beautiful and completely
safe. Below is the information that Larry provided to me about his
technique for applying the fininsh
Quote from Larry Jaques
"An exclusive technique I designed myself using exquisite
motions with half (2nd half) of an old sock. Of course,
Frank Klausz uses those nice lambswool applicators, but
most anything (lintfree) will do. Rub it on thinly and
evenly, let dry, use 400 grit to denib it, wipe clean,
repeat until satisfied. (That's usually 2-3 coats.)
After at least a day (preferably 3) to dry, I use some
Johnson's paste wax on an old superfine Scotchbrite pad
to degloss, then wipe off with the 1st half of an old sock.
Waterlox dries in 20 minutes, but lots of things can make
it take longer, like cool or moist weather.
Repeat after me: Thou Shalt Never Rush a Finish!
This is the first rule in furniture finishing and should
never, under any circumstances (nagging wives included)
be broken. Failure to follow this rule _to_the_letter_
will leave you like over 3/4 of the guys here: hating to
finish wood.
More rules are: 2) Finish in a ventilated but non-dusty
environment. and 3) Use all the light you can while
finishing. It allows you to see any sags and dry spots
so you can touch them up before they become a problem."
This is pretty much the process that I use as well. I have made a few
changes that seems to work for me.
1. Apply coat with a foam brush and let sit a few miniutes.
2. Wipe off excess with clean cloth
3. Let dry ~ 1 hour then repeat
I usually apply at least 3 coats to build the finish.
The other thing I do a little different is that I apply 1 coat of wax
using 0000 steel wool, then a second coat using a soft cloth. I use a
power buffer with a lambs wool bonnet for the final buffing. I like
the Waterlox so much that it is about the only finish that I use
anymore. It really brings out the figure in the wood.
I second the Waterlox for the cradle. I made one out of cherry for my
son and at the suggestion of Larry Jaques here on the Rec, I used the
Waterlox to finish. The finish is absolutely beautiful and completely
safe. Below is the information that Larry provided to me about his
technique for applying the fininsh
Quote from Larry Jaques
"An exclusive technique I designed myself using exquisite
motions with half (2nd half) of an old sock. Of course,
Frank Klausz uses those nice lambswool applicators, but
most anything (lintfree) will do. Rub it on thinly and
evenly, let dry, use 400 grit to denib it, wipe clean,
repeat until satisfied. (That's usually 2-3 coats.)
After at least a day (preferably 3) to dry, I use some
Johnson's paste wax on an old superfine Scotchbrite pad
to degloss, then wipe off with the 1st half of an old sock.
Waterlox dries in 20 minutes, but lots of things can make
it take longer, like cool or moist weather.
Repeat after me: Thou Shalt Never Rush a Finish!
This is the first rule in furniture finishing and should
never, under any circumstances (nagging wives included)
be broken. Failure to follow this rule _to_the_letter_
will leave you like over 3/4 of the guys here: hating to
finish wood.
More rules are: 2) Finish in a ventilated but non-dusty
environment. and 3) Use all the light you can while
finishing. It allows you to see any sags and dry spots
so you can touch them up before they become a problem."
This is pretty much the process that I use as well. I have made a few
changes that seems to work for me.
1. Apply coat with a foam brush and let sit a few miniutes.
2. Wipe off excess with clean cloth
3. Let dry ~ 1 hour then repeat
I usually apply at least 3 coats to build the finish.
The other thing I do a little different is that I apply 1 coat of wax
using 0000 steel wool, then a second coat using a soft cloth. I use a
power buffer with a lambs wool bonnet for the final bufing. I like the
Waterlox so much that it is about the only finish that I use anymore.
It really brings out the figure in the wood.
"Jody" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:%[email protected]...
> Al in WA soon MT wrote:
> > Hi All,
> >
> > Making a cradle for our daughter out of Butternut and Cherry but not
sure of
> > best finish. Thinking about Formby's Tung Oil (about 8 coats) but not
sure
> > about top finish. Will Minwax Finishing Wax be O-K or is it toxic or
not
> > acceptable for any reason? Not set up for spraying any finish so
that's
> > out, actually I prefer Tung Oil because it brings out the grain almost
in
> > 3D.
> >
> Well with the cherry, nothing beats the warmth of shellac and several
> coats of a good wax. Then look at it this way. If it's safe for medicine
> and fruits and veggies it will be safe on a cradle.
I much prefer linseed to tung. Tung stinks, and always seems to have a bit
of internal light scatter to it when used in varnish formulation. I build a
_bunch_ of cradles when I was in the service, and used varnish in either
full-strength or thinned. Any cured finish is "safe." Certainly safer than
the oak cradles I made because the customers insisted. Hope the toddler
didn't chew it and get a mouthful of splinters.
Last couple have been to give away, so I spent more time on them. Linseed
and shellac.
On 6 Jan 2005 05:39:56 -0800, "Rob Ritch" <[email protected]> calmly
ranted:
>I second the Waterlox for the cradle. I made one out of cherry for my
>son and at the suggestion of Larry Jaques here on the Rec, I used the
>Waterlox to finish. The finish is absolutely beautiful and completely
>safe. Below is the information that Larry provided to me about his
>technique for applying the fininsh
>
>Quote from Larry Jaques
>
>"An exclusive technique I designed myself using exquisite
>motions with half (2nd half) of an old sock. Of course,
<snip>
I'm honored to be quoted.
>This is pretty much the process that I use as well. I have made a few
>changes that seems to work for me.
>
>1. Apply coat with a foam brush and let sit a few miniutes.
I tried that precisely once. A cabinetmaker's scraper took the ridges
off and I wiped from then on.
>2. Wipe off excess with clean cloth
>3. Let dry ~ 1 hour then repeat
I prefer to wait at least 8 hours if not 24 between coats, even as
light as I coat.
>power buffer with a lambs wool bonnet for the final buffing. I like
>the Waterlox so much that it is about the only finish that I use
>anymore. It really brings out the figure in the wood.
Ditto here, although I keep some Super Blonde shellac flakes around
for those odd uses, too.
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