Thread: Adventures in Tung Oil

Originally Posted by shooter74743

I have used plain old superglue and the large bottle stuff available at hobbylobby. Both have worked for me. Secondly it works well for a quick laceration...don't ask!

I read that thread!!!! and yes, it also burns like the dickens... don't ask!

I'm searching google right now for a good sized supply. Something like an 8 ounce bottle. I'm seeing where they sell it in that size in thin and extra thin. I'm not seeing anything that says it's normal CA though. I do see extra thick though. I probably have some of this stuff sitting in the top of a closet along with a bottle of spray hardener. As I recall though, using the hardener/accelerent on the CA would cause it to put of a good amount of heat and made it cure almost instantly. I also recall that too much accelerent would cause hazing on the finish.

I really want to hear your thoughts on that PHIG btw, please keep me in the loop on your thoughts.

Originally Posted by Nphocus

I work in a Homeshop, so the non-noxious nature of the tung oil really appeals to me. I have buffing compound and was wondering the exact same thing. What color or combination of compound do you use? Wouldn't the compound color the wood?

The oil is plenty dirty too, at least the grain filling is. Oddly, I find it to be the most satisfying. Since I work in my home with little to no ventilation, I try to keep the fumes and toxic chemicals to a bare minimum. The long thin scale on the right was finished from raw with just tung oil and 400 grit sand paper. One additional selling point is that the oil keeps the dust to a minimum.

Originally Posted by Nphocus

cyanoacrylate

What brand and how much are you guys using to finish 1 set of scales? I see CA thrown around, but I wonder if everyone is just using plain old super glue from the grocery store or if there is a particular Loctite or 3M brand that everyone is partial to.

Can/has anyone ever used CA on top of tung oil? I mean, just wiping down the surface with acetone and then applying the CA?

What I'm experimenting with doing is pre-finishing my scale material before I cut the scales. I'm curious how far you can go into the finishing process and then cut out your scales, do some touch up sanding or final sanding, and then whatever coating and sealing process.

When I do knives I go through all the grits hand sanding to finest grit then soak in oil for 24 hours without sanding after. I just cut the top off a big beer can and leave the oil in as rags soaked in linseed oil are supposedly prone to catching on fire if left in sunlight. If forms a nice skin after months of being left out that's strangely satisfying to break with a new knife each time.

One thing to keep in mind is boiled linseed oil will slightly darken light woods but raw linseed oil won't. Once dry I usually go straight to a very fine white finishing compound but I have used black and red compounds first in the past. The worst case scenario I get is a black film that builds up in places on the tang and pins that wipes off easily and still leaves a nice finish underneath. I haven't had a light wood change colour due to compounds as a 24 hour soak must fill the grains in the wood with oil preventing it taking on anything apart from on the surface. I hope that's the case anyway as I make knives for outdoor use and I soak them to avoid rusting the carbon tangs under the scales and liners.

CA glue has come in real handy when working with woods that have small cracks or pockets within the grain you sometimes find after the final shaping of scales. Instead of pulling off the scales and binning them you can fill all these imperfections with thin CA glue. For this I use the cheapest, thinnest poundshop CA glue I can find. Buffs up a treat after a final sanding and soak. I've heard of knifemakers using thin CA glue to effectively stabilise entire scales but I've never tried it myself as it sounds a real messy experience. The time involved makes me prefer to just buy stabilised scales if that's what I'm after as time is money to a degree.

I could well be wrong here and I'm sure someone will correct me if I am but I wouldn't have thought you could use the CA on top of tung oil as the wood grain won't absorb the glue properly. Maybe it's worth a try though, you never know! You could be onto something. I only make knives as a hobby and these are just my experiences. I'm far from an authority on the subject, just thought I'd share my experiences, most of what I've learned comes from mistakes!

Post some pics of the finished scales if you can as I'm relatively new to redoing straight razors and looking forward to comparing results and seeing your finish...

Rockler sells CA in 3 stages, thin, medium and thick. One of our members posted that he uses a thin first to seal the wood, and then uses medium for the rest of his coats. He said that off the shelf super glue is thin, and Gorilla CA is medium. I just have Rockler medium, and it has worked ok, although I will try thin for my first coat the next time I do a CA finish.

Ca works well on top of tung oil. I use medium viscosity ca glue. Im sure any brand will work fine.
+1 on black palm being a devilish wood to work with!!

Originally Posted by tumtatty

Ca works well on top of tung oil. I use medium viscosity ca glue. Im sure any brand will work fine.
+1 on black palm being a devilish wood to work with!!

How do you prep it before you apply the CA?

This is the process I use for oil finishing. It actually uses very little oil & you put the lid back on the tin after the grain filling.
http://www.organoil.com.au/woodcraft/printable.html
Too much oil will give a dark dull finish. Sand dry to 3000 grit if you can get it or an equivalent in Micromesh after grain filling & you get a finish that does this at the right angle but has no plastic looking coating. When viewed front on the timber looks just like ... timber

Thank you for the VERY useful link. I'm going to whip out the dremel and try some high speed burnishing. Pics if it's not a disaster, later!

Never tried the dremel. Hope to see pics

Originally Posted by Nphocus

How do you prep it before you apply the CA?

I apply the finish I want then, after it dries, I begin with the CA. I have been using an oil based finish with polyurethane (Arm-R-Seal by General Finishes). Then follow the CA directions in the wiki.

Originally Posted by tumtatty

Ca works well on top of tung oil. I use medium viscosity ca glue. Im sure any brand will work fine.
+1 on black palm being a devilish wood to work with!!

Good to know that for future referance, many thanks! Do you think it would be the same for linseed oil and similar then?