Thread: Outdoor Table

Another veiw

Two equally stunning timbers used with great results. Have fun moving it around !
PS – what (oil?) did you use to finish it?

Sceney's decking oil mixed with raw tung oil. Greg Sceney, the owner of Sceney's oils is an industrial chemist. He is also a great guy to talk things over with. In woodwork there are some problems with working out what are the real facts of life, particularly with oils. What Greg says is that the finishing oils, tung and linseed, are long chain hydrocarbons with double bonds. The double bonds are opened by heat, catalysts or ultraviolet light. The catalysts used are metal salts, the Japan driers or Terabine.

What I have been doing is applying some of the principles that Greg has taught me. I initially use his indoor finishing oil or his outdoor decking oil mixed with 20% tung oil and flood the initial coat. The carrier oil is turpentine, pure or vegetable for the indoor oil and mineral turps for the decking oil. This allows pretty deep penetration. There are also some alkyds in these oils which helps with the protection.

For subsequent coats I use a 50% tung oil mix then subsequent coats of pure raw tung oil. If you use raw tung oil it can take for ever to go off, that is cross link, harden and dry. The books say that it can take three weeks.

I do what Greg suggested and put the work in sunlight, a couple of hours and the oil is dry. I finished one table top prior to Christmas, I left it indoors during that time when it was over 40degrees. After 10 days it still hadn’t dried. However a further coat of raw tung oil and being put out into late afternoon sun (between 5 and 7 pm) and it had dried completely.

Since this table is outdoors anyway the sun has ensured that all the oil dries.

Really nice - I like it a lot Almost exactly what I want to build. Did you work off plans?

No, my sister in law designed it.