What's a better finish for wooden jigs and shop fixtures?
A BLO-type finish or a Shellac-type finish?
Picking two which are easy to apply and, more important, easy to repair.
What about Danish Oil?
Thanx
Charles
You put a finish on shop jigs?
How about both BLO and shellac?
finish? on a jig? why?
One reason I can think of is to keep glue squeeze-out from bonding the part to it.
My jigs are MDF, and I live in the West of England. If I don't wax them, they grow barnacles.
My Vote: Shellac.
Whatever I can reach, have a lot of, and is cheap.
I've used shellac, polyurethane, lacquer, paint, but in most cases, nothing.
I make jigs as I need them. Therefore, I'm in too much of a hurry to apply a finish, as I need to use the jig to make something else. If it's something that'll get a lot of use, I might finish it later. Most get some wax on the moving parts or where glue might stick, and that's it.
Some folks enjoy making jigs for the sake of making jigs, I don't.
Barry
If it is a one time use, I agree. Jigs or templates that will be used repeatedly get poly or shellac. Keeps them clean if nothing else. Dust wipes off easier.
Humidity?
Alex
Most of my templates are Masonite or 'Whiteboard'. As a matter of course, the sheets get a coat, or two, of Shellac {'Clear Seal' UNwaxed} before they are even cut. This allows me to 'cleanly' glue the pattern to the surface. After the pattern is cut, the exposed edges are also given the shellac treatment.
If the template is a 'Drawing' one {1/8 in material}- the shellac is all I use. If it is a 'Router' one - an additional coat {or two} of water-based poly is given to the edges.
If a jig is something more than a scrap of '2x for spacing, etc., and 'requires' the use of 'Baltic Birch' type material, then it certainly warrants a bit of protection. I would shellac if I needed it 'NOW' !! - or both if I could wait. In addition, it gives a nice surface to either wipe down with wax - for slipperiness, or attaching some sort of 'anti-slip' material when a firm hold is desired.
Regards & Good Luck, Ron Magen Backyard Boatshop
"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote ... SNIP Jigs or templates that will be used repeatedly get poly or shellac.
This week it's monsoons. I've had to lend the workshop dehumidifier to help dry a neighbour's shop out after flooding.
Anyone got any gopherwood ?
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