Thread: Texturing - how to finish?

An MT mounted cloth mop in the headstock is my go-to for buffing textured areas, etc. that need attention after dismounting the piece from the lathe.

This also includes finishing any post-turning carving, drilling and cutting, as well as polishing bits I belatedly 'missed' by lack of attention.

I have different mops for each type of finish, to avoid cross-contamination.

BTW, a toothbrush is always a handy adjunct to have... mops last longer when they're used just for polishing and not 'removal of excess finish.'

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

An MT mounted cloth mop in the headstock is my go-to for buffing textured areas, etc. that need attention after dismounting the piece from the lathe.

This also includes finishing any post-turning carving, drilling and cutting, as well as polishing bits I belatedly 'missed' by lack of attention.

I have different mops for each type of finish, to avoid cross-contamination.

BTW, a toothbrush is always a handy adjunct to have... mops last longer when they're used just for polishing and not 'removal of excess finish.'

By "cloth mop" do you mean like the U-Beaut "Swansdown Mop" style? I've used them (not the U-Beaut, but similar) for polishing metal, but not wood. If they're what you're using I guess they do a good job and survive being used against a textured surface? Are they a better choice on textured surfaces than the Sorby "ball of wool" style of mops (are also cotton, I believe), which look like they'd be great on the inside of a bowl but might pull apart against textures? Looks like my Christmas list just got a bit longer......

I learnt from my father to collect all the old toothbrushes in the house and keep them in various toolboxes for small cleaning jobs and the like. Unfortunately now we all use electric toothbrushes, so I have to buy new ones for use in the workshop. They are still incredibly useful things!

G'day Warb,

They're definitely among the 'disposable' tools, growing a bit smaller with every use. They seem to handle textures fine, it's squared edges that chew them away the most.

I haven't tried the swansdown mops, although I've been meaning to. Perhaps when my current supplies run low.

In the past I was lucky enough to be given a box of a couple of dozen cloth mops; same principle as the swansdown, except built up from layers of linen.

Probably originally meant for lapidary work, mounted on a grinder, but they fit my morse taper nicely with the help of a home-made bush.

After removing any loose fibres ,I just use my normal danish oil finish .
Ted

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

An MT mounted cloth mop in the headstock is my go-to for buffing textured areas, etc. that need attention after dismounting the piece from the lathe.

Thinking this through...... do you bring up the tailstock to keep the taper from releasing?

I thought I'd give this a try, but the only place I can find 2MT mop arbours/pigtails is Axminster, and they're out of stock! I might need to break out an old bench grinder.......

Originally Posted by Warb

Thinking this through...... do you bring up the tailstock to keep the taper from releasing?

No, my MT is tapped @ both ends, so I pass a long threaded rod thru the headstock to 'lock' the MT in. It was originally for a pen mandrel, but I removed the mandrel shaft and drilled/tapped out the working end to take a larger bolt I could slip washers, spacer and mop onto.

Should be possible to use the tailstock instead, although that would restrict the elbow room when polishing inside large bowls, etc.

A bench grinder should also work just as well.

Use a Danish Oil or UBeaut's Aussie Oil.

Originally Posted by Stumpy Tail

Use a Danish Oil or UBeaut's Aussie Oil.

I've not tried Aussie oil yet, for two reasons. Firstly, from a practical viewpoint, it's classed as a dangerous good so shipping is expensive - Carbatec's freight cost goes from $10 to $42 when a bottle of Aussie Oil is on the order! Secondly, I mostly turn bowls and plates which then sometimes get used for food (serving snacks etc.) - U-Beaut's Traditional Wax and Shellawax Cream (the finishes I mostly use) are both clearly stated as non-toxic, food-safe etc. as is their FoodSafe product which I also use from time to time. However I can't find any such claims for Aussie Oil, and even the list of "suitable applications" doesn't include anything related to food or children's toys. Saying that, I'm only judging based on what info I have found on the web, I've not read the label!

Most of the above also applies to Danish Oil, though bizarrely whilst the Liberon product that Carbatec sell is classed as a dangerous good, the Organoil version isn't and it lists children's toys as a suitable use - I guess the "Olde Style" claim for Organoil means they don't have lots of flammable petrochemical additives?

Next time I go to Sydney it looks like I'll be coming home with a ute full of dangerous goods!

Hello Warb

Good pick up about the food safe info.
Interesting. All the time we've been making and supplying Aussie Oil and I never realised it doesn't say Food Safe anywhere.... Bugger

I'm working on a new shop site for U-Beaut Products and it will definitely be on there and also the info sheets. Was too interested in getting it out there to think about that.

FWIW I recon all Danish oils Would or should be Flammable so should be classed as DG. If one says theyrer not there's an easy test. Put little onto a plate or something else flame proof and and put a match to it. If it burns and they all should then it's DG and the makers aren't being honest. SOme manufacturers make up their own MSASs' for products and aren't always 100% honest. Also the bodies like ADSIZC and others can only make up the MSDS or SDS from the info they're given. Again not all info given is 100% honest.

IO will send you a PM re Aussie Oil when I get a chance a little later.

Originally Posted by ubeaut

FWIW I recon all Danish oils Would or should be Flammable so should be classed as DG. If one says theyrer not there's an easy test. Put little onto a plate or something else flame proof and and put a match to it. If it burns and they all should then it's DG and the makers aren't being honest.

It's good to know that Aussie oil is food safe - I'll give it a try when I have a chance.

I recall that the Dangerous Goods legislation changed, or a change was being discussed, a few years ago (I have a friend in the heavy transport business, and it came up in conversation). One of the issues was the difference between flammable and combustible. Diesel fuel is (was?) not classed as a dangerous good for transport because whilst it would burn ("combustible") its flash point was above the temperature where it would be classified as "flammable". As just about everything is "combustible", that alone was not sufficient to classify diesel as a dangerous good. The attempts to make diesel a "dangerous good" related to the environmental impacts of a spillage, not the flammability. Perhaps the same applies to the danish oils, and the Organoil version has a flash point above whatever the current "flammable" flash point temperature is? The only important point to me, if I decided to use it, is the quadrupling of the shipping charge between two brands of the "Danish oil"... But I'm very happy with your U-Beaut products (especially if Aussie Oil works for me), so it's not a big deal anyway!

I would use a medium sized nylon scrub brush. With the item still on the lathe, to clean up the "fuzzies" that are left by the texturing tools. A brass brush will also work, but I have had the brass embed wire in soft pieces. Just turn on the lathe and use it like sandpaper. Then I would finish it first with a an oil finish like Danish oil or teak oil before apply any wax.

This is the procedure I used to when I did stippling or rustication to my turnings. The nylon brush acts as an abrasive to clean up the texturing. I used fingernail scrub brushes, cheap at the dollar stores, look for both soft and hard bristled. They also work good for cleaning wax out of crevices, but when you do that the brush is "contaminated".