hi woodworkers,
i have a couple shellac questions. i have used lacquer,
varnish, and oil/varnishes before, but this is my first time
with shellac.
i bought a pound of orange shellac flakes from lee valley,
and some shellac thinner (basically alcohol). i mixed up a
3 pound cut.
1. i was surprised how much flakes i had in the jar. i am
pretty sure i worked everything out right, but i basically
had the whole jar full of shellac flakes and added about an
inch of alcohol in the bottom! i know i am not describing
the quantities precisely, but there isn't much point since i
am sure i added the correct amounts (good scales and careful
math). what i am after is a 'feeling' answer. i have seen
pictures of people making a 3 pound cut on the web, and also
a picture in bob flexners book, and they basically cover the
flakes with alcohol. so are the LV flakes just not very
dense? or have people pounded their flakes up to make them
take up less room? in the end everything dissolved ok, so
perhaps it was right. seemed to go on ok, but i don't have
much to judge it by.
2. i wanted to let the shellac settle so i could dewax it.
i mixed a 1 pound cut, something light brownish settled out
in the bottom 1/2 inch in a day or so. i guess it is the
wax? the top is almost black, the colour of shellac flakes.
but my 3 pound cut has not settled out in a few weeks! the
whole thing is a kinda very dark brownish tan colour. am i
doing something wrong? or was what i saw in my 1 pound cut
not really the wax settling out?
any help much appreciated!
thanks
matt
dadiOH wrote:
> Matt Wilkins wrote:
>
> > i bought a pound of orange shellac flakes from lee valley,
> > and some shellac thinner (basically alcohol). i mixed up a
> > 3 pound cut.
> >
> > 1. i was surprised how much flakes i had in the jar. i am
> > pretty sure i worked everything out right, but i basically
> > had the whole jar full of shellac flakes and added about an
> > inch of alcohol in the bottom!
>
> A three pound cut is three pounds of flakes in one *GALLON* of alcohol.
>
> --
> dadiOH
> ____________________________
>
> dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
> ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
> LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
> Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
I find a two # cut works very well for finishing and a dilution of 50%
makes a good penetrating sealer. 3#/gal. is a little thick to work
with.
Bugs
Hi Matt,
You may find the attached answers your questions. Cheers, JG
http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/htdocs/shellac.htm
Matt Wilkins wrote:
> hi woodworkers,
>
> i have a couple shellac questions. i have used lacquer,
> varnish, and oil/varnishes before, but this is my first time
> with shellac.
>
> i bought a pound of orange shellac flakes from lee valley,
> and some shellac thinner (basically alcohol). i mixed up a
> 3 pound cut.
>
> 1. i was surprised how much flakes i had in the jar. i am
> pretty sure i worked everything out right, but i basically
> had the whole jar full of shellac flakes and added about an
> inch of alcohol in the bottom! i know i am not describing
> the quantities precisely, but there isn't much point since i
> am sure i added the correct amounts (good scales and careful
> math). what i am after is a 'feeling' answer. i have seen
> pictures of people making a 3 pound cut on the web, and also
> a picture in bob flexners book, and they basically cover the
> flakes with alcohol. so are the LV flakes just not very
> dense? or have people pounded their flakes up to make them
> take up less room? in the end everything dissolved ok, so
> perhaps it was right. seemed to go on ok, but i don't have
> much to judge it by.
>
> 2. i wanted to let the shellac settle so i could dewax it.
> i mixed a 1 pound cut, something light brownish settled out
> in the bottom 1/2 inch in a day or so. i guess it is the
> wax? the top is almost black, the colour of shellac flakes.
> but my 3 pound cut has not settled out in a few weeks! the
> whole thing is a kinda very dark brownish tan colour. am i
> doing something wrong? or was what i saw in my 1 pound cut
> not really the wax settling out?
>
> any help much appreciated!
>
> thanks
>
> matt
"Matt Wilkins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> hi woodworkers,
>
> i have a couple shellac questions. i have used lacquer,
> varnish, and oil/varnishes before, but this is my first time
> with shellac.
>
> i bought a pound of orange shellac flakes from lee valley,
> and some shellac thinner (basically alcohol). i mixed up a
> 3 pound cut.
>
> 1. i was surprised how much flakes i had in the jar. i am
> pretty sure i worked everything out right, but i basically
> had the whole jar full of shellac flakes and added about an
> inch of alcohol in the bottom! i know i am not describing
> the quantities precisely, but there isn't much point since i
> am sure i added the correct amounts (good scales and careful
> math). what i am after is a 'feeling' answer. i have seen
> pictures of people making a 3 pound cut on the web, and also
> a picture in bob flexners book, and they basically cover the
> flakes with alcohol. so are the LV flakes just not very
> dense? or have people pounded their flakes up to make them
> take up less room? in the end everything dissolved ok, so
> perhaps it was right. seemed to go on ok, but i don't have
> much to judge it by.
>
> 2. i wanted to let the shellac settle so i could dewax it.
> i mixed a 1 pound cut, something light brownish settled out
> in the bottom 1/2 inch in a day or so. i guess it is the
> wax? the top is almost black, the colour of shellac flakes.
> but my 3 pound cut has not settled out in a few weeks! the
> whole thing is a kinda very dark brownish tan colour. am i
> doing something wrong? or was what i saw in my 1 pound cut
> not really the wax settling out?
>
> any help much appreciated!
>
> thanks
>
> matt
1. Buy a cheap kitchen scale and weigh the flakes. Trying to equate weight
to the bulk density of a natural product is highly variable. It takes me
seconds to weigh shellac flakes and then add them to the appropriate volume
of alcohol. The tricks about using a volume of flakes and then a volume of
alcohol are highly irreproducible because different brands and different
types of shellac flakes all have different bulk densities.
2. Why bother dewaxing your own flakes? Just buy already dewaxed flakes.
You can get them in all the different types. I use a lot of garnet shellac
and always buy then flakes already dewaxed.
Good Luck.
Matt Wilkins wrote:
> i bought a pound of orange shellac flakes from lee valley,
> and some shellac thinner (basically alcohol). i mixed up a
> 3 pound cut.
>
> 1. i was surprised how much flakes i had in the jar. i am
> pretty sure i worked everything out right, but i basically
> had the whole jar full of shellac flakes and added about an
> inch of alcohol in the bottom!
A three pound cut is three pounds of flakes in one *GALLON* of alcohol.
--
dadiOH
____________________________
dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
Bugs wrote:
> p.s. De-waxed shellac is ultra refined blonde [white] Shellac. I think
> de-waxing orange shellac yourself would be difficult.
> Bugs
Uh, no. There is such a thing as dewaxed orange shellac and other
less-refined shellacs may also be dewaxed. They are pretty much
independent qualities of the shellac, though it may be that the
'super refining' done to white shellac necessarily also removes
the wax.
In addition to waiting for the wax to settle and decanting, you can
mix in mineral spirits or turpentine, mix thoroughly, and decant.
The wax is soluable in mineral spirits but the shellac is not.
Some folks dewax by 'washing' the flakes in mineral spirits
before disolving them in alcohol. My guess is that takes a lot
of washing.
I haven't done this myself but you can google this newsgroup
to read the experiences of others who have.
--
FF
>I think de-waxing orange shellac yourself would be difficult.
No, it just takes time if you let it settle out. If you happen to have
access to a biology lab, though, centrifuging orange shellac for a few
minutes at 3000 G's takes all the wax and bug parts right out - I get
some good-quality shellac that way. I doubt if it'd be worth buying or
making a centrifuge for this purpose, but if a local university has
surplus, or if you have a friend in the sciences, it's something to
think about...
Andy
"Bugs" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> p.s. De-waxed shellac is ultra refined blonde [white] Shellac. I think
> de-waxing orange shellac yourself would be difficult.
>
Wax is nearly insoluble in alcohol or water. Shellac isn't. Decant the
clear solution. Works fine, if that's your thing. Use the residue on your
turnings - or your leather.
On Wed, 8 Mar 2006 20:23:57 -0500, "Baron" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>1. Buy a cheap kitchen scale and weigh the flakes.
Get a dieter's scale. Mine weighs up to a pound and is accurate to a
gram or so.
--
"We need to make a sacrifice to the gods, find me a young virgin... oh, and bring something to kill"
Tim Douglass
http://www.DouglassClan.com