Thread: Help to identify this wood

Originally Posted by cor55

.....then doing a pseudo french polish to get a glossy finish.

Cor55, I like shellac finishes, & do a fair bit of 'french' polishing (according to George Franks the way we do it isn't at alll French!). However, I wouldn't use regular shellac brews on a dining table top because of the risk of water & solvent damage. If you are determined to have it, then consider using our sponsor's "hard" polish. I've only tried it a couple of times, and found it very different to use compared with the old 'mix yourself' buttons or flakes. It has more 'grab' when rubbing, & I find it harder work to get a really even, slow build. However, if you want toughness & resistance to water & solvents, it's probably worth the extra effort.

Cheers,

I've never thought to try accentuating the grain on Blackwood. I doubt it's necessary and I'm not really sure it would work well.

For a dining table, I'd personally go for a wiping varnish - easy to apply, not too "plastic" a look and will provide decent protection for a table top.

Good luck and share your results - I'd love to see it.

Cheers,
John

Hi again everyone and thanks for the input. I will start up a new thread for this build - may take a while, but I have at least started.

Here's a few pics to show what I've been doing:

restored a few old planes - this one is a stanley #6

Attachment 193906
Attachment 193907


bought a load of wood from a furniture making factory that closed down - I was real lucky with this find:

IMG_1181.jpg


Started planing the blackwood:

Attachment 193909



gotta modify the vise on my bench, but other than that, it's going pretty good.

Hope to share some more pics over the coming weeks.


Corey

Originally Posted by crankshim

cor55, that other wood in IMG_1151.JPG looks like meranti
Light Red Meranti, also known as Shorea albida - Species
Can anyone else confirm?

My sample has more contrast and random lines of dark wood to that meranti. Similar, but different - the meranti looks to uniform in colour and grain, but i'm no expert. Here's another shot of mine (different sample to 1151 but I think same wood) with a coat of oil on it:

IMG_1183.JPG

Originally Posted by IanW

I wouldn't use regular shellac brews on a dining table top because of the risk of water & solvent damage.

Cheers,

that was on my mind. I reckon I might go a varnish and polish it up into a gloss, if that's possible. At the moment, the wood looks great with just some olive oil rubbed on it. Lots of testing I guess, to see what suits the finished table best.

Originally Posted by jcostab

I doubt it's necessary and I'm not really sure it would work well.

For a dining table, I'd personally go for a wiping varnish - easy to apply, not too "plastic" a look and will provide decent protection for a table top.


Cheers,
John

I think you're right about it not being necessary, John. I wont do it after seeing the wood today that I planed. What sort of varnish would you recommend? I have no experience with finishing yet.

Corey

What a great stash of timber Corey!

I'm not an expert either, but if you want to just buy something simple that will result in a nice finish with little chance of stuffing it up, you can get a product called "Minwax Wipe on Poly" at Bunnings.

Making your own wipe on varnish is easy too - just thin some varnish (any type of oil based varnish or "poly") with mineral turps and boiled linseed oil - you can then wipe it on with a rag and wipe off the excess for an easy great quality finish. I forget the exact ratio - something like 1/3 each of varnish, oil and turps I think.

Good luck.

John

Originally Posted by jcostab

What a great stash of timber Corey!

I'm not an expert either, but if you want to just buy something simple that will result in a nice finish with little chance of stuffing it up, you can get a product called "Minwax Wipe on Poly" at Bunnings.

Making your own wipe on varnish is easy too - just thin some varnish (any type of oil based varnish or "poly") with mineral turps and boiled linseed oil - you can then wipe it on with a rag and wipe off the excess for an easy great quality finish. I forget the exact ratio - something like 1/3 each of varnish, oil and turps I think.

Good luck.

John

Yes, that works, but the simplest 'wipe on' is just poly & turps. I start with a mix of about 60% (turps) to 40% poly. Slosh it on & wipe off before it gets sticky. It takes quite a few coats to build, but that's good as it evens things out nicely. With caare, you can get a finish almost as good as FP, but much more durable. Have done several kitchen counter tops this way & they have stood up very well over time.

Cheers,

I just found a great article about wipe on varnishes, that explains the differences between oils, varnishes and blends in a clear way (as clear as it can be with such a confusing topic!).

The Basics of Wiping Varnish | Popular Woodworking Magazine

You guys are awesome, thanks. I'll be reading up and experimenting with these finishes.

The table build is starting here:

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f187/b...-table-146198/