Captain Suave
Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris.
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Fuck sanding. I finish everything with a plane, spokeshave, or knife. If that limits my work, so be it.
I have done small pieces with mahogany using Wipe On Poly. It is a simple finish to use but somewhat two dimensional. I switched to blond shellac and the difference was unbelievable. Sand to 320 grit paper, dampen the piece with a wet paper towel to raise the grain, let dry and resand w/ 320; apply tung oil, wait about 5 minutes, remove the excess and apply the shellac; apply four or five coats of blond shellac, rubbed w/ 0000 steel wool in between coats. This gives the wood a three dimensional depth and radiance I have not seen on mahogany. Sometimes a grain filler can be used for a mirror-like finish. I have not done reproduction work, so I am not familiar with that type of period finishing, but I am sure you will have lots of small left over pieces to make small boxes or containers to experiment with the shellac afterwards.
Shellac and tung oil are great choices for walnut.In my research for a finish for this stuff, someone brought up the following statement.
"It's hard to beat what Waterlox does for walnut"
I think I am I inclined to agree.
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I second shellac on mahogany. It brings out the chatoyance of the grain beautifully. It's also easy to apply and repair. It's just easily damaged by solvents.Any nice finishing recommendations for Honduran Mahogany.
Some finishing forum recommended below:
Shellac and tung oil are great choices for walnut.
I second shellac on mahogany. It brings out the chatoyance of the grain beautifully. It's also easy to apply and repair. It's just easily damaged by solvents.
Tung oil, linseed oil were also used when mahogany furniture was popular.
Shellac is basically beetle juice in alcohol, so it should be food safe![]()
With a little Indian saliva and toe jam included for FREE!Shellac is used as a clear coat on candies, even fruits and vegetables as a preservative during shipping.
For the lectern, either clear or amber would work well. Personally, I would sand to a high grit (400) and use clear shellac. If you are using Zinsser sealcoat, I would cut the first 2-3 coats 50/50 with denatured alcohol, then sand lightly again, then 2-3 more coats at full strength, then sand smooth, then apply 1-2 more coats. Finish with wax and steel wool or a grey scotch brite. Classic and beautiful finish.Thanks, that is what I am going to try- because as you said, it brings out the pattern.
I was not planning on doing any stain or coloring - but on shellac there is an amber and clear - its just annoying paying 15$ just to try a finish.
Does as that guy said work, do the oil, then shellac on top right after?
Is all shellac "food safe"? I have a chunk of butcherblock I want to laser and give as a charcuterie platter- figure while I have th bug poop finish, I could use it on that.
The piece I am doing in mahogany should not take any real solvent damage or wear, its a lectern.. a water bottle at most- but mostly moving around and storage.
I kinda like those legs, but they are very modern looking. Are you leaving the slab as it is in that picture? If so I kind of dig the rustic look of the slab with modern legs.
I am looking for coffee table legs - that's what this will be. I think probably metal - something I can just screw into the bottom and be done with quick.
I found this site and there's a few options here. Anyone ever know or seen any other options? This is a little too "modern artsy" for my taste, but I'll use it if I have to
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Search for RAMPA brand inserts. Those are the ones that the dude from Blacktail Studios use, and that dude works with very heavy tables/slabs.Can anyone recommend m5 threaded inserts they actually like, that work well for hardwood? I keep getting shitty ones that might as well be made from plastic. I think I've tried 6 different ones, but all from amazob