Thread: Working with Huon pine

Welcome to the forum, Terben.

You'll find Huon Pine a dream to work; which is fortunate because it's a very expensive timber these days. Just make sure any end grain is well sealed along with the rest of the piece. Is it birds eye or clear timber? I have used it with red cedar banding and framed with silky oak, a beautiful complement of Australian timbers.

My preferred finish is wipe-on polyurethane which produces a matt to satin look. It's easy to use, durable and dries quickly.

Good luck with your build. Hopefully you can post some pictures on the forum.

mick

G'day Terben
Danish Oil is my preference or Hard Burnishing oil followed by a wipe on /off wax

Do not shortcut the sanding , It maybe more than others do but I sand it to 1200

I have combined it with Walnut or Teak works well

Are the slabs sawn edge or a natural bark edge ?

Garry

Not sure if this was a me problem or is a general problem especially not having used Huon pine before.

Had a set of raw coasters given to me, by a relative, to be finished. Did the usual prep and used wop 3 coats, as usual, everything appeared as normal.

About a week later, the finish could be lifted with a fingernail. Not had this before so figured there had to be a contaminant, so back to square 1 and do it again ensuring that all the required steps done again - same result. Do it again but this time when stripped, sanded, dusted I did a wipe over with acetone as I figured there had to be something on/in the surface preventing adhesion of the wipe on poly. Result this time was good.

Whether there is a natural oil or other contaminant or if this was a 1 off I don't know - others more experienced with Huon pine could perhaps comment.

There certainly is a natural oil in the timber which will usually spit back out most single pack polyurethane lacquers in time.
For chairs I have used danish oil with pretty good results, just wipe the excess off before it dries.
However for tables where the surface is going to cop spills and be wiped up a lot with damp cloths the best option by far is a 2 pac lacquer. People will try to tell you to use fancy oils instead but my advice would be don't.
The same applies for glue....use a 2 pack epoxy. Forget P.V.A.

Huon Pine contains a natural aromatic, volatile oil. The best way to finish is to sand to a very fine finish (800 grit or higher) then polish with Ubeaut Traditional wax. A beautiful long-lasting finish that only needs buffing intermittently. That's my experience (being an ex-Tasmanian) with Huon Pine.

Originally Posted by Shedhand

Huon Pine contains a natural aromatic, volatile oil. The best way to finish is to sand to a very fine finish (800 grit or higher) then polish with Ubeaut Traditional wax. A beautiful long-lasting finish that only needs buffing intermittently. That's my experience (being an ex-Tasmanian) with Huon Pine.

I guess it depends on how you are going to use your coffee table.
If you are going to put cups of hot coffee on it and the inevitable spills then for the life of me I cant see how a wax finish will stand up to the job. Wax melts.
Perhaps you are someone who is very careful and cautious and uses coasters for cups etc. Then wax may well be for you.
I like to finish a coffee table/dining table to withstand the more rowdy behaviour that happens over the years. You know, spilt food, coffee or other beveredges or worst case scenario a vomit or some such thing. The table is made to last as long as possible, might as well do the same for the finish.

Yep wax melts...so you re-buff it.

From carving to machining to sanding and everywhere in between, it's as good as it comes. As workable as any wood available, and not pitifully soft at the same time. It is my single favorite wood in the world.

Finishing causes some people problems, but not me. I've had great results with a number of commercially available oil and shellac-based products. It's a light wood, and it sands to an already high polish, so unless you really put something thick and high gloss on it, it doesn't change as much as some, darker woods will during finishing. Nonetheless, a bit of something to make the grain contrast pop out, particularly if there are some birdseye or whitetbait characteristics, will really help.

Good luck,
Luke

Originally Posted by Shedhand

Yep wax melts...so you re-buff it.

Shedhand, I've used very little Huon, so can't speak from experience, but if a wax finish on it will tolerate spills without marking, it would be unique. Oil 'n' wax finish is my favourite for many woods, because you can get a superb finish with the least effort, but I gave up using it on table tops a very long while ago, because neither the cured oil nor the wax are the least bit resistant to spills. Unless wiped up immediately (& try to persuade kids to do that!), I've never managed to remove glass-rings or spills from such surfaces by buffing or applying fresh wax.

These days, any surface that will be likely to cop liquid spills gets several coats of polyurethane diluted with turps (50/50 or a bit more) sloshed on, then wiped off before it gets tacky. Do that 4-6 times and you get a finish that's very tolerable (seems to work well with either gloss or satin), which is much more resistant to spills.
Ubeaut's 'hard' shellac is claimed to 'resist' spills. While I've used it quite a bit, so far only for things that are unlikely to have anything spilled on them, & it hasn't actually been put to the test (yet!). I'm happy if it stays that way.....

Cheers,

Point taken. The things I make with Huon are not usually used as items related to food or drink. Think Hall stands/tables/cabinets and such. Bread boards, serving tools etc get a couple of coats of food safe oil.
Thanks for responses.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Shedhand

Point taken. The things I make with Huon are not usually used as items related to food or drink. Think Hall stands/tables/cabinets and such. Bread boards, serving tools etc get a couple of coats of food safe oil.
Thanks for responses.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I like to use no finish at all on my bread boards as they get washed just about every day. It is remarkable the differing opinions people have about them. For instance some folk would not dream to carve up a roast on one. Can't imagine how many roasts have been carved up on the 3 here. They do get a good scrubbing in hot water and are left to dry on a sunny windowsill which is meant to be a good germ killer. Also I am amazed how long they last. One of mine is made from ordinary old radiata pine and has been in the house since 1989!, if you had a bit of radiata pine in the structure of your house that was getting wet daily it would have rotted out years ago.

Shedhand, I do not mean to sound like I am disagreeing with everything you say, I'm not. Just putting my 2 bobs worth out there about breadboards. I am certain there are lots of differing opinions about them by fellow forum members. Hmm maybe getting off track a bit here.

I had a slab of Huon polished and finished with a 2 pack lacquer and used as a small computer desk. Came up a treat and every now and then when I walk through the office the smell of the Huon Pine comes out even after 10 years. Love this wood

Hard Burnishing Oil. Look at the results in this thread. Admittedly it's red Gum, but I use HBO, which claims to be food safe, on just about everything. I have a large kitchen mobile bench which I did 11 years ago and it still doesn't mark at all, despite years of hot pots and pot lids, food spills, you name it.

Regards,

Rob