What are you working on?

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Originally Posted by xiaotuzi

I have some pure tung oil I use for scales sometimes, would that do the trick followed by some wax then? Or is Danish oil better/different? Thanks

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It's mostly close to the same thing. the thinner and lighter you make your coats the deeper it will finish, is more or less the rule of thumb. The theory is that heavy coats will have too much refraction and won't show through as well. So with finishing oils in general you go with very small amounts of product and a lot of rubbing to really work it in and make it uniform and thin. Make sure your rags are lint free and thins like thread bare old linen tends to work quite nice. I have not done a hand rubbed finish for quite some time so the products may have changed a little here and there. With products like lacquer and shellac they are touchy on getting them flat and polishes so they tend to not be used by many people. The oil and wax is a pretty simple process. Is you use a scraper on the wood there will be no sanding marks to worry about and it will be very flat to start with. You can make a scraper out of a very wide old bandsaw blade, but for most people the scrapers are easy to find at fine woodworking stores. Lee Valley has them and likely Woodcraft will have them too. That is what was used to finish wood before there was sandpaper. If you haven't used on e before it will amaze you as to how simple it really is.

Nice work on them scales Rez, well done.

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Originally Posted by xiaotuzi

I have some pure tung oil I use for scales sometimes, would that do the trick followed by some wax then? Or is Danish oil better/different? Thanks

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I like to use MinWax, followed by Tung Oil, on 'pretty' pieces I really want the grain to come thru on. Depending on the demsity of the wood, anywhere between 3-10 coats of MinWax, followed by 5 to ?? coats of Tung Oil. Like Rez said, be sure your rags are lint free and apply thin coats. I apply in swirl motions, followed by a 'with the grain' stroke at the end of each application. Once each coat is dry (18-24hrs), use a soft cloth to 'buff or polish', before the next coat.

Rez great work on the scales, the tea treatment worked well they look aged.
Tuzi, its hard to tell from your pics but it is possible that your fine box might just need a good cleaning, followed with some oil and wax. You can use some fine steel wool and paint thinner to clean all the gunk and go from there. If you go to cabinet scraper more then likely you will remove all the wood patina/aging. Don't get me wrong I love scrapers the difference between them and sandpaper is incredible. Looking forward to seeing the development on the box.

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Originally Posted by Martin103

Rez great work on the scales, the tea treatment worked well they look aged.
Tuzi, its hard to tell from your pics but it is possible that your fine box might just need a good cleaning, followed with some oil and wax. You can use some fine steel wool and paint thinner to clean all the gunk and go from there. If you go to cabinet scraper more then likely you will remove all the wood patina/aging. Don't get me wrong I love scrapers the difference between them and sandpaper is incredible. Looking forward to seeing the development on the box.

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I second what Martin said. Paint thinner and steel wool with a light touch.

I went back and looked over the pictures of the box again. With the fact that the blemish on the top is on the surface and not in or under, I do believe that Martins approach is the better one. When possible always start with doing no harm.

I tried the paint thinner and steel wool but the old finish that was on there was too thick, flaking away in some places and really stuck on there in other places. So, I scraped then sanded and it came out pretty good. The felt inside the box is in ok shape. There was felt glued in on either side of the lid to pad opening and closing that was in rough shape so out it came.

This weekend I hope to have time to apply thin coats of oil. I will need to replace the felt on the lid ends, without it there's too much slop, so I'm thinking I need to keep the tung oil away from those spots or the glue won't stick, right? Other ideas?

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Originally Posted by xiaotuzi

I will need to replace the felt on the lid ends, without it there's too much slop, so I'm thinking I need to keep the tung oil away from those spots or the glue won't stick, right? Other ideas?

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Every band-saw box I've made had plenty of slop in it. Adding felt bumpers would be a personal choice, I guess.
Then again, I never moved any of my boxes around very much. They just sit there and collect dust.

Tape is my friend. I use for masking a lot. If you mask off the areas where you will be putting the felt you won't get a lot bleeding under it as long as you are a little careful.

Man! That looks nice! So as you guys refer to a 'scraper' , what tool is it?

Something you pull with instead of pushing?