Thread: Red Gum Finish

Last time I felt the bottom of a table during a dinner party I found a lump of fresh chewing gum. What a sticky situation. I was feeling for something else. Not a pleasant discovery.

I used the equal coats scenario before as an example. I believe that you should at least give one good coat on the bottom and not just sanding sealer, it must be the finish itself. This will still retard the amount of moisture absorbed.

If you happen to be one of the idiots who just uses sanding sealer as a finish (and there are plenty of them out there) then learn the correct way to finish. But I digress.

As Mr Hayward says "please cheat a bit and polish well at least 250mm in from the edge."
If things are so tight for time on the furniture manufacturing front that you can't afford to take an extra 10-15 minutes to finish the underside of a table then maybe it is time to look for another occupation.

Pride in your work alone should dictate that the bottom receives something better than just a quick squirt from the gun. Especially if you are producing high class one off furniture.

If you are producing pine junk for the bottom end of the market then you may get away with the less professional approach.

There is much, much more to be said on this important subject but I have had my say for now.

Knuckles

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I will can come alone. (Where ever and when ever I please.)

Shaun Hayward,

I think you are either exaggerating, or you should reread that article about 2" of Epoxy is the only way to prevent moisture from entering into the woods. No finish is 2" thick, and the cost of a finish like that would be to expensive for customers.
There are other finishes that would seal out the moisture like Polyester, and a catalyzed Polyurethane.


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Yes Mac, I did exaggerate. It's the way here in Oz. Keep on checking out this and other Australian BB's and you'll come to understand the way we take the .
Have nice day.
Shaun.
Ps Mac, call me Shaun, no need for formality here.

knuckles, Mate if you can prepare and polish a table top in 10-15 minutes, your a genius Geez I spend that alone in preparing it for finishing, and thats my quick method for that bottom end pine junk Don't like keeping time when I do first class pieces Unfortuanatly this time frame only allows for a quick squirt of a gun, as you put it. Also, I do fully polish all tops on the underside at least 300mm in from the edge, This really dosn't come into the discussion of fully coating the underside. Chairs, I do fully coat the undersides, if they are a timber seat of course But since we are talking about tops I havn't bothered to mention that yet.
This is a good discussion and shows good example of different techniques used all the over the world, lets not turn it into a slinging match. We all should be willing to listen and learn as well as teach. Theres always more than one way to complete a task, one way may be better, but other ways may be more practicle, each job will determine that! All professionals will swear there way is the best, but then we've more than likely been doing it that one way most our lifes
Cheers

Shane.....

Hi Shane
You raised some good points and I for one have found this whole discussion not only good fun but also informative. If you read back through the previous posts I'm sure you will agree. I can also sympathise with Knuckles who seems to have a low tollerance for "pine junk". I guess everyone has to start somewhere and in woodwork it seems to be rough and ready items in Radiata. Rough from start to "finish". The trick is, to learn as you go, look at the work of others and learn from it and most of all keep an open mind. We all get firm ideas about some things but if we don't look aropund once in a while we will be making cheap pine stuff forever. I hope this discussion has prompted others to have a think about their methods and review what they do.
I know I've picked up a few tips.
Happy polishing.
Shaun.
Ps. Are you any the wiser Marcus or just more confused?!!

Well,Well.

I do a lot of "pine junk" because that is what my customers WANT, BUT, pine is a timber and every thing in pine is constructed and finished the same as it is for the high end. I have also made furniture from ply, mdf, packing crate material, masonite, steel and any other man made or natural product.

I'll bet that when oak or walnut was readily available some one probably said to Chesterfield or some of the other great furniture builders that we try to emulate, "why are you using that cheap,ordinary crap for?"

REMEMBER THIS: beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the beholder is generally paying the bills by purchasing something from you.It does not mean that you have to compromise your workmanship even though you may be prostituting your "artistic beliefs."

I know so many so called artists who can indulge their artistic fantasies because they are are in well paid jobs and if they had to rely solely on what they produced would be being paid for by you and I via the dole.



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Ian () Robertson
"We do good turns every day"

I'm signing off on this topic after this post as it has digressed a little. I have to reply to though re Pine.
, it's a fact that Pine is the entry level timber for woodworkers. It's cheap, readily available and comes dressed. This means a fair amount of very ordinary stuff is produced using it. I don't have a problem with Pine as a timber but because of all the poor quality work around using it I believe most things made in Pine, good or bad, are not valued as highly as equivalent pieces in some other species. Not a fair situation but lifes like that. Sure the customer foots the bill and I've used Pine on occasions like everyone else but I certainly don't look for work in this species as it is hard to get the right returns on your efforts. I didn't mean to offend anyone with my previous "pine junk" comment but it is a sad fact that most of the work offered for sale in Radiata falls into this category. The abundance of shops devoted to retailing this stuff are testimony to the fact there is a legitimate market for pine furniture but as woodworkers we should always aim to improve our skills, reputations etc, and progressing to more "credible" timbers is a good move.

Keep up those "Good Turns"
Regards
Shaun

Hi All,

Well, My latest thinking on this delightful subject is to maybe use something like the Estapol 7008 2 pack clear finish.

Does anyone have specific experience with this product?

Marcus