Finishing Oil

I will use oil and thus, the

I'd use wax, not oil.

If you use an oil, use a "drying" oil. That is, an oil that oxidizes an becomes a stable substance. Linseed oil would work. I prefer tung oil. My favorite is the catalyzed tung oil that Lee Valley sells. Most vegetable oil does not harden, and may become rancid. You would not want to use olive oil, cottonseed oil, etc. Mineral oil is inert but it never dries.

-------------------------------------------- My weapon of choice is boiled linseed oil.

Lew

Any type of wax?

Is it sold as "boiled" or is it actually linseed oil which you boil?

------------------------------------------------- "Meanie" wrote:

---------------------------------------------------- "Boiled linseed oil" is sold as a stand alone product.

They tell you to cut it with a thinner for application.

I use turpentire because I like the smell.

Sounds crazy, but that's me.

Have fun.

Lew

Motor oil would not be good. Neither would "mineral" oil. Neither would raw linseed oil (takes too long to dry).

Any drying oil such as boiled linseed oil, tung oil and other relatively esoteric ones will work fine.

Be aware that BLO darkens much as it cures/ages. On dark woods that isn't particularly noticeable unless it has been poorly sanded thereby allowing more oil to stay on.

I recommend clear shellac, but any clear finish will work fine. Lacquer is also great. Shellac will dry fast and will turn walnut from milk chocolate to dark chocolate. For something that small I would probably buy a spray can of clear lacquer if that was all I was doing. Myself, I always have a can of shellac on hand, and would apply it with a small piece of rag I could toss when done. After a couple coats of shellac I would hit it with some fine steel wool for a silky smooth finish.

BLO (Boiled Linseed Oil) is also great. BLO has a yellow cast to it that is nice with some woods but not needed for walnut, so I would use just clear shellac or lacquer.

Here is a wedding goblet I made beside the walnut log. The goblet has a couple coats of clear shellac, so you can see how dark the walnut became with nothing but shellac. I finish lathe stuff on the lathe with just small piece of rag dipped in shellac. Toss the rag when done, no muss, no fuss.

Jack, I can't find your goblet in your photo gallery. Give a link.

Sonny

I wanna see some pics, too.

Sonny

LOL...I wanna be in your world.

Thanks

Thank you>

Beautiful goblet. I'm particularly fascinated at the two rings on the stem. I assume the rings are one piece and you did all on the lathe?

Oh oh, the pressure is on. Will do...unless they turn out bad...lol.

Thanks, it's an Irish wedding goblet I made for my daughter's recent wedding. Cut it out of a hunk of Walnut log I salvaged from a neighbors black walnut tree. I tried to tell her she could get good cash for that tree, but she ignored me. It's now firewood and lathe wood. What a shame, the wood is gorgeous.

The rings are one piece and done all on the lathe. Very easy to do, just cut a bead then undercut the bead. Tape the rings to one end of the stem as you cut them loose. Sand them best you can before cutting the suckers loose...

I made a small square box out of it as well with a "firewood" maple hinged lid. The maple lid I think is silver maple from my yard.

I've found shellac is a super finish for Maple and Walnut firewood:-)

Orange/amber shellac is great on walnut, gives it a warmer tone. Cut to 1 lb, shoot on 4 quick coats, let cure a week, top off with paste wax. 1 lb shellac levels out beautifully, probably won't even need steel wool.

Walnut + shellac =3D classic combination.

If you want oil, you can do better with varnish cut