Thread: Help for challenging small sliding lid box finish

So I have some organoil HBO on the way, still interested to know about cure time and possible speeding up of curing. Anyone?

The makers say 3 weeks. This is because they use a slight but significant variation in method. Using their method, you can have oil resurface a week or two after first application. If you follow my method without adding your own "sure it'll work" adaptations, you'll won't end up with this problem. There's no cure other than to use a ROS with paper towel on the pad, then go over the table and keep going 'till the oil doesn't come through anymore. (as you can imagine, this could take some time.) You will end up with the same problem. (Oil resurfacing after time.) Using my method will give you a mirror finish, with no extra problems. Curing is pretty much immediate,(this is why you use friction in the method, it polymerizes the oil in the wood) but give it a day and you should be fine. I have tables that were done nearly 10 years ago and they are still exactly like they were back then.
Tell you what. I'll prepare,
sand and oil a piece of figured timber and send it to you. Then you can play with it.

Regards,

Rob

Originally Posted by LGS

The makers say 3 weeks. This is because they use a slight but significant variation in method. Using their method, you can have oil resurface a week or two after first application. If you follow my method without adding your own "sure it'll work" adaptations, you'll won't end up with this problem. There's no cure other than to use a ROS with paper towel on the pad, then go over the table and keep going 'till the oil doesn't come through anymore. (as you can imagine, this could take some time.) You will end up with the same problem. (Oil resurfacing after time.) Using my method will give you a mirror finish, with no extra problems. Curing is pretty much immediate,(this is why you use friction in the method, it polymerizes the oil in the wood) but give it a day and you should be fine. I have tables that were done nearly 10 years ago and they are still exactly like they were back then.
Tell you what. I'll prepare,
sand and oil a piece of figured timber and send it to you. Then you can play with it.

Regards,

Rob

Hi Rob,thanks for the extra info, and I would be very grateful to take you up on your offer.
Pm incoming.

It would be interesting to hear how you went with all your testing. Re the Livos Linn, due to the nature of the oil, it does take some weeks to fully harden and cure and unfortunately, there are no shortcuts...but I think you will be pleased with the gloss level.

Originally Posted by AngelaPetruzzi

It would be interesting to hear how you went with all your testing. Re the Livos Linn, due to the nature of the oil, it does take some weeks to fully harden and cure and unfortunately, there are no shortcuts...but I think you will be pleased with the gloss level.

Hi Angela, I did write a long reply to your question, but the internet ate it before I could submit it, a summary was that I am experimenting with the Linn oil and so far not having much luck. Following the instructions I am not getting a gloss finish on the third coat with a day in between coats. I am going to try two days between coats, but that along with a long cure time is leading me to become a little discouraged.
I was unable to get a satin or gloss sheen with either the Tratex gloss or the Osmo saitn , so it could be that although the Peppercorn Burl I am testing with is stabilised it may be extremely thirsty and taking much longer for the coats to dry.
Nothing so far is beating tru oil for it's fast drying easy pore filing ability and final luster. These experimental products were hopefully to save me time and reduce labour while giving a good water, heat and abrasion resistance to rival or preferably beat Tru Oil, while giving minimal build up, I am yet to be convinced, however I will try a new batch of tests soon.
I have not been able to find any interweb articles of folks using Linn Bathroom oil yet , so I only have the instructions on the Livos site and no real world tips and advice of it's application on different woods and how to achieve a gloss result.
Another significant issue with all these is the low grit sanding requirements, and with figured burl there is just no way to hide 320 or even 600 grit sanding marks with such a low build system.
I am definitely looking forward to giving the Hard Burnishing Oil a go as Rob has suggested.

I'm interested to see how you go, thanks for sharing. I love your work, trying to figure out how you get such a fine neat cut for the sliding lid pieces. Especially in burl. Well done!
Trying to find the ideal finish for small items like these may become a life time pursuit, I've been experimenting for over 12 years and still trying new things. My cupboard is full of tins of expensive lessons learned.
On another note, has anyone heard if Organoil are closing down (again)? I hope not, I use their decking oil all the time, recently noticed organoil's website is no longer working and Google maps says it's closed down permanently.

I would be inclined to agree with you, that there is some hardening that still goes on. But that point may or may not reflect the point at which the finish is fully fills it's function.

Regards,

Rob

Originally Posted by Ausworkshop

I'm interested to see how you go, thanks for sharing. I love your work, trying to figure out how you get such a fine neat cut for the sliding lid pieces. Especially in burl. Well done!
Trying to find the ideal finish for small items like these may become a life time pursuit, I've been experimenting for over 12 years and still trying new things. My cupboard is full of tins of expensive lessons learned.
On another note, has anyone heard if Organoil are closing down (again)? I hope not, I use their decking oil all the time, recently noticed organoil's website is no longer working and Google maps says it's closed down permanently.

thanks for the compliment.
The dovetail cuts on the main box are cut with a router bit in a mini mill at 2200 RPM slowly advancing the table. The lids/doors Re cut on the homemade router table with the lid double sided taped to a template, again slowly advancing past the bit. The blocks are stabilised with "Cactus Juice" this helps somewhat with tearout etc.

Originally Posted by LGS

I would be inclined to agree with you, that there is some hardening that still goes on. But that point may or may not reflect the point at which the finish is fully fills it's function.

Regards,

Rob

Hi Rob, I'm confused as to which statement you are agreeing with here.

Actually, I'm not sure that I know what I mean.This thing with oils is getting out of hand. As far as I can tell and from my own experience and hands on research, HBO is dry and functional almost as soon as it has been finished. I would ask people who are interested in this to please read this. It took a while and cost me a bit, but I'm happy that the results are real. So if any one doesn't believe these are the answers I got and that Hard burnishing Oil doesn't work, do it yourself and see. Or, if you want, you can come over to my cave and I'll show you. It'll take about an hour and a half and you can bring your own piece of timber if you want. But picking a random number for the time an oil takes to cure just isn't right. Oh and you can see some stuff that's been done with HBO. Some pieces were done now 8-9 years ago.

Regards,

Rob