OldTools Archive
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139295 | "Ken Greenberg" <ken@c...> | 2004‑12‑06 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
On 6 Dec 2004 at 16:53, Jonathan Peck wrote: > > I've purchased my first two pounds of shellac for which I'm told is > probably a lifetime supply. I got 1lb. blond, 1lb. orange and two > quarts of denatured alcohol. I didn't get any garnet, but this can be > easily remedied with another trip down to TFWW. I'm hoping that > shellac will be relatively odorless and I won't have any problems in > my unventilated basement shop. Swmbo is ultrasensitive to chemical > smells and doesn't want to see me get anymore dainbramaged than > already am I is either. (a little chortling) Lifetime supply? I've used more than two pounds of shellac and the fact that I can see my breath in the shop these December evenings strongly suggests that I am still alive. Just think of it as a good start. Good choice of colors, I think. I have every color of dewaxed shellac made, and blonde or superblonde plus orange covers most bases. You will eventually want to get some garnet just to see what it does and find out how it looks on various woods. I use it sometimes, but less than the others. Shellac is odorless in the sense that it smells like whatever you dissolve it in. In other words, your shop will smell a whole lot like denatured alcohol, which some of us find quite pleasant. Your wife might not. > > So's assuming I finish a project, what are some tips to get me started > with shellac and how do I know which types go best with the > color/species of wood I'm finishing? I could also use a little help > with application and storage. Start here, probably: http://shellac.net/information.html Lots of posts in the archive, but any good finishing book should tell you what you need to know, and free to ask us when you have a question. I like Jeff Jewitt's books, myself. It's not hard to use, and you can fix your mistakes since the solvent (alcohol) can remove the finish even after it has dried. One of shellac's most endearing characteristics. As with all finishes, you tell what looks good by putting some on the species of interest. Orange shellac over curly maple is quite nice, but it's all subjective. Try it, but remember that it builds color a bit - the more coats, the more color. If you're going to apply an oil "undercoat" to enhance the grain, don't forget to do that when color testing as well. It has a significant impact. The best thing to tell you about storage is that you shouldn't mix up more than you are going to need. It doesn't take long before you figure out how much that io. Keep it in flake form as much as you can, and I store the flakes in the freezer. They essentially last forever that way. Once you mix them up with the solvent, they will start to deteriorate. Not fast, but don't expect to store the stuff for six months in dissolved form and pick up where you left off. It'll certainly last long enough to finish an entire project when dissolved. In the summer, I can just cover the flakes with alcohol in a jar and stick it outside, especially on a 100 degree day. A bit harder this time of year, but someone suggested buying an inexpensive coffee grinder and grinding the flakes first. I think this is just brilliant, although it occurs to me that the mixing ratios may change by quite a bit since you eliminate the air space between flakes when you grind it. It's all pretty approximate anyway. My first cut is visually 2:1 - an inch of flakes goes in the jar, and add alcohol until you've got two inches of it. Let this dissolve. I cut this 2:1 for brushing on initial coats where I want a fast buildup. I cut that mixture 2:1 again for padding on the last coats. This has worked for me for years. There's a good deal of work on "finishing the finish" after this part, but get the finishing books and follow what they say. Should work out fine. -Ken Ken Greenberg (ken@c...) 667 Brush Creek Rd., Santa Rosa, CA 95404 http://www.calast.com/personal/ken/wood.htm Visit the oldtools book list at http://www.calast.com/personal/ken/booklist.htm |
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139296 | Jim Thompson <jdthompsonca@s...> | 2004‑12‑06 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
On Dec 6, 2004, at 1:53 PM, Jonathan Peck wrote: > GG's > > I've purchased my first two pounds of shellac for which I'm told is > probably a > lifetime supply. > Big snip > So's assuming I finish a project, what are some tips to get me started > with > shellac and how do I know which types go best with the color/species > of wood > I'm finishing? I could also use a little help with application and > storage. > First order of business is to find out if the odor of alcohol is a problem for her. That is the only odor involved with shellac. If she doesn't object to that odor, you are all set. Next order of business is to mix up some shellac. The archives have got to be loaded with that information. Next, prepare some boards in the species you intend to use and try the different types of shellac on them to see what appeals to you. I love a thin coat of garnet on dark woods for color before I put any other finish on. Your mileage may vary. Jim Thompson, the old millrat in Riverside, CA |
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139291 | Jonathan Peck <jpeck@m...> | 2004‑12‑06 | getting started w/shellac |
GG's I've purchased my first two pounds of shellac for which I'm told is probably a lifetime supply. I got 1lb. blond, 1lb. orange and two quarts of denatured alcohol. I didn't get any garnet, but this can be easily remedied with another trip down to TFWW. I'm hoping that shellac will be relatively odorless and I won't have any problems in my unventilated basement shop. Swmbo is ultrasensitive to chemical smells and doesn't want to see me get anymore dainbramaged than already am I is either. I've located a mill about 60 miles from my house and I hope to make a visit for some project wood real soon. That and some vacation time to be spent at home over the holidays and I might actually complete a project real soon. Lord knows I've been fettling and restoring enough tools over the past year that actually completing something might bring more than a raised eyebrow and a sigh when I get all excited over some new tool. So first I guess I need a little mill etiquete. They have dry or green lumber available with the more variety being green. For air dried S2S and S4S they have a moisture meeter available for my use. My choices for air dried are walnut, red oak, maple, black locust, sycamore. cherry, apple, ash, hickory to name a few and 55 more species available green. So I guess I need to have a good idea of what I want before I get there. I'm not sure what species are limited in size/thickness and so on. Perhaps I should just look for what appeals to me and start from there. Should I be looking for 5/4, 6/4, 8/4? So's assuming I finish a project, what are some tips to get me started with shellac and how do I know which types go best with the color/species of wood I'm finishing? I could also use a little help with application and storage. Totally clueless Jonathan |
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139297 | "Lawrence H. Smith" <lsmith@s...> | 2004‑12‑06 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
>Shellac is odorless in the sense that it smells like whatever you dissolve it >in. In other words, your shop will smell a whole lot like denatured alcohol, >which some of us find quite pleasant. Your wife might not. Given yet more bad news on benzene (often the denaturant) you might want to go with the expen$ive Everclear solution, or the cheap 99% isopropyl (propanaol) solution, rather than continue playing with denatured ethanol if benzene is the denaturant used. -- -Lawrence H Smith, Librarian/Computarian for Buxton School and Woodworker -lsmith@s... Cats, Coffee, Chocolate... Vices to live by. |
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139314 | "Gary P. Laroff" <glaroff@c...> | 2004‑12‑06 | RE: getting started w/shellac |
Here's a few more pieces of information on shellac that conflict a bit with previous responses. There are two different issues that come up with benzene content in ethanol (grain alcohol) and the subject of denaturants. In just a good pure water mash of grains that is distilled to separate off the ethanol, some rules of chemistry define that the best distillation will yield 95% ethanol and 5% water. That is essentially the 95% alcohol = 190 proof "moonshine". If diluted, you could drink it safely. This would make a terrible solvent for alcohol where you would like zero water. For some chemistry applications, one would want to buy 99.99% alcohol. To distill alcohol/water mixtures to get nearly pure alcohol, benzene is added to the mix. It is then possible to distill off a mixture of 99.99+% alcohol and less than 0.01% benzene with essentially no water. This is not safe to drink, although college students try it every year, and can cause blindness. The benzene is indeed poisonous, but is not in a high enough concentration to be a true denaturant. If you care to, you can remove the benzene. That is why this alcohol usually comes with a liquor seal and heavy taxation. The small amount of benzene is harmless when it evaporates as in shellac finishing. The most common denaturant to both make the alcohol poisonous and very difficult to purify back to drinking alcohol is methanol = wood alcohol. Most borg-like stores sell ethanol denatured with methanol and state on the can that methanol is included. Most woodworkers use this alcohol to dissolve shellac although the alcohol from Hock and others will be guaranteed not to include water. If you are going to brush shellac on medium to large surfaces and not just tool handles, I happen to like Behkol from Behlens. It includes anhydrous ethanol and some isobutanol. It smells very much like denatured alcohol and goes on real smooooth. When dissolving shellac flakes in alcohol, the more concentrated you make it, the longer it will take to dissolve. Heat helps and you might be tempted to do this, but do not put the container on the stove or even in a double boiler. It can catch on fire or explode. There is a similar solution that works and is relatively safe, especially if you have an electric stove or hotplate. Try to dissolve the flakes in alcohol in a glass container (jar). When not stirring it, keep the jar capped. Heat a small pot of water on the stove to around boiling. Remove the pot and put in on a safe surface away from the stove. Put the uncovered jar in the hot water and stir the contents. Repeat as frequently as you have the patience for, removing the jar from the water before reheating the water. Make sure to keep the jar away from the stove. It might be a bit quicker to reduce the flakes to smaller sizes in a perfectly clean coffee grinder borrowed from a neighbor, but this really isn't necessary if you warm and stir as above. Gary Laroff, who got his doctorate in chemistry doing research with alcohols. |
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139302 | Ken Meltsner <meltsner@g...> | 2004‑12‑06 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
Different products, different denaturants. They might look at you funny if you start sniffing the containers, but the label is often a clue. I buy the cheap stuff with 4% or less methanol. Benzene is a known carcinogen, so I'm not sure whether they use it to denature 200 proof (100%) alcohol these days. VWR lists a bunch of denaturing additions for ethanol, but I don't know what's used by Ron Hock, for example. There's no real point in paying the premium for potable 190 proof alcohol, but it should be free of poisonous additions. Other bits: The highest potable alcohol you can buy is 190 proof or 95% alcohol + 5% water. It's really hard to get 200 proof undenatured alcohol because it has such a strong affinity for water. The other good stuff for solvent use is isopropyl alcohol -- you need the 99% pure stuff, not the 70% (or less) rubbing alcohol stock. It evaporates slower than ethanol, I think. Ken Meltsner |
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139313 | Charlie Rodgers <crodgers3163@c...> | 2004‑12‑06 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
Ken Meltsner wrote: >snip > >The other good stuff for solvent use is isopropyl alcohol -- you need >the 99% pure stuff, not the 70% (or less) rubbing alcohol stock. It >evaporates slower than ethanol, I think. > > > Jonathan: I buy the isopropl at the local janatorial supply outlet (actually labled as anhydrous) for ~$8/gal. I consider it a good buy. It has (to me) significantly less odor than denatured that I get at the borg. If the denatured odor isn't a problem for your wife, it will dry faster and dissolve the flakes faster than the iso. If you're doing a large piece, mix the iso and denatured 50/50 to slow down drying time and avoid lap marks. my 2 cents worth. Charlie Rodgers who has a just-mixed pint of buttonlac ready to go on a small side table Clinton, Maryland |
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139316 | Ken Meltsner <meltsner@g...> | 2004‑12‑06 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
On Mon, 6 Dec 2004 18:38:36 -0800, Gary P. Laroff |
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139315 | Jonathan Peck <jpeck@m...> | 2004‑12‑06 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
>Lots of posts in the archive, but any good finishing book should tell >you what you need to know, and free to ask us when you have a question. Thanks to all....I seem to have caught the bug...the lac bug that is. I've spent the last year and whatever soaking up the knowlege here on the porch. Absorbing all I can about tools and their history, what they do, how they work, what to look for, and how to clean, restore and fettle them. This has been all consuming and the rest of my time has been spent lapping the backs of irons sharpening and misc. honey do's. The whole time Shellac has been mocking me, like I might ever build anything, and all the great postings on the subject have gone by...barely read much less understood....I was on oldtools overload and can now finally breath as the slope levels out. The other drawback has been the lack of a source of affordable lumber in species that are attractive and enjoyable to work with....read - I've been in True Value lumber yard heck. Everytime I've gotten on the phone with a mill to ask questions about mail order lumber I've hung up feling like an idiot, not knowing the language or the right questions to ask and have been to insecure to place an order. Thanks to all of your great contributions, I'm now going through the archives absorbing whatever I can on how to work shellac - OK so I'm starting at 1996 and have a ton of reading to do. So this is a huge topic, but it's starting to make sense. I'm also hoping that a trip to a local mill in Oyster Bay that I've found will help with my education alot more than dealing with the chuckleheads at the true value. So can anyone explain the mixing of shellac and the cuts/ratios in real simple terms? Do I start with a thin cut and rub on, use pumice or a thick cut brushed on and sand down to fill the pores? Any tips for dealing with the mill will also be appreciated Thanks Jonathan |
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139325 | "Ken Greenberg" <ken@c...> | 2004‑12‑06 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
On 6 Dec 2004 at 22:02, Jonathan Peck wrote: > So can anyone explain the mixing of shellac and the cuts/ratios in > real simple terms? Do I start with a thin cut and rub on, use pumice > or a thick cut brushed on and sand down to fill the pores? Any tips > for dealing with the mill will also be appreciated I discussed mixing in my last post, so I'll try to address application here. There are really three phases to shellac application, and we're talking the simple way of doing things, not getting into French polishing or the like. In simple terms: 1) Build up a nice, thick, mostly even amount of shellac. 2) Let it sit for a week to cure. 3) Level and polish the finish Phase 2 is the easy part. Phase 1 is mostly concerned with building the finish. Assuming you have prepped the wood and possibly applied a coat of some oil (I just use BLO these days), you want to apply enough coats to build up one thick one. Because of the nature of shellac, the coats are additive - each one melts into and thickens the coat before it. This is quite unlike oil based finishes, which react (usually with air) to form a surface that does not dissolve with each new coat. I'll explain what I do, but my advice remains the same - buy a book and read it first. That's the best way to learn this stuff. If something in the book confuses you, we'll get you through it. Read first, ask questions later - it's really the best way. Being a person with a short attention span, I tend to brush on the first few coats to get going pretty quickly. After that, I pad on additional coats until I think I have enough on there. You never sand between coats with shellac. The thing to remember is that you are building a finish that isn't going to be level yet, and you will (in phase 3) level it by sanding it. So you have to get a pretty good thickness going. Luckily, the stuff is so thin when you pad it on that it dries very quickly, and you could easily do half a dozen coats in an afternoon on something small like a box. Two brush coats and about six pad coats is probably what I do on average, but it's pretty intuitive after you've done it a while to know when you have "enough" on there. When you have enough shellac on the surface and you have let it cure for a week, you level it by running through increasingly fine grits of wet-dry paper. It's kind of like scary sharp for finishes, although you start with something fairly fine like 400 grit. If I see obvious drips I start with 320, nothing coarser. Use a block of something for backing and go over all the surfaces. The coarser grits really do the leveling, taking off the high spots. The finer grits remove the scratches from the coarser grits. At the start of this process, the surface will be shiny. As you sand it should become uniformly dull. Any spots that still shine mean you have a relatively low spot that needs to be reached and you have to keep going. If you inadvertently remove all the shellac and get down to bare wood, it means either you did a poor job of applying it to about the same thickness everywhere or you stopped too soon and didn't get enough coats on there. Not a problem really, just go back and apply more, but you still have to re-do phase 2. This might happen the first few times, just don't panic. Eventually you get a better feel for the stuff and it won't happen any more. When you get to the last grit (I go to about 1000 because that's usually what I have around), you are done with the leveling and have effectively moved into the polishing. You now switch over to finer abrasives - pumice first, then rottenstone. I apply these with a cloth and use mineral oil as a lubricant, but there are other choices. Basically you're making a paste and rubbing all over the finish to remove the rest of the scratches. I used to just do this with rottenstone, but it works better with pumice first. You're still doing the same thing, using finer abrasives to remove scratches until you reach a point where you can't see them anymore. This will give you a pretty reflective finish, if that's what you want. There are ways to make it not so shiny. You have to read the book for that one. Did I mention you should go buy a book? -Ken Ken Greenberg (ken@c...) 667 Brush Creek Rd., Santa Rosa, CA 95404 http://www.calast.com/personal/ken/wood.htm Visit the oldtools book list at http://www.calast.com/personal/ken/booklist.htm |
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139342 | Bill Kasper <dragonlist@u...> | 2004‑12‑07 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
'course, you could always measure your measures, then grind, then mix. your ratio would be the same as for shellac flakes, but you'd gain the benefits of the grind. b On Dec 6, 2004, at 2:43 PM, Ken Greenberg wrote: > I think this is just brilliant, although it occurs to me that the > mixing > ratios may change by quite a bit since you eliminate the air space > between > flakes when you grind it. |
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139345 | Ron Hock <ron@h...> | 2004‑12‑07 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
Denaturants are specified based on the work being done. Our anhydrous alcohol that we sell for shellac is denatured with 10% isopropanol and 5% methanol. JFYI. > Given yet more bad news on benzene (often the denaturant) you might want > to go with the expen$ive Everclear solution, or the cheap 99% isopropyl > (propanaol) solution, rather than continue playing with denatured > ethanol if benzene is the denaturant used. -- Ron Hock HOCK TOOLS www.hocktools.com 16650 Mitchell Creek Dr. Fort Bragg, CA 95437 (707) 964-2782 toll free: (888) 282-5233 fax: (707) 964-7816 |
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139335 | "Rodgers Charles" <rodgers_charles@b...> | 2004‑12‑07 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
Jonathan Peck wrote: > So can anyone explain the mixing of shellac and the cuts/ratios in > real simple terms? Do I start with a thin cut and rub on, use pumice > or a thick cut brushed on and sand down to fill the pores? Any tips > for dealing with the mill will also be appreciated > Jonathan: You've been given a lot of good advice but I didn't notice anyone answering your direct question re: the cuts. The weight cited (1 pound, 2 pound, 3 pound, etc) refers to the amount (in pounds, eh) added to a gallon of solvent. I was reluctant at first, so I actually bought a postage scale and would weigh out the flakes, calculate the amount of solvent and mix it up. It was more like high school chemistry than woodworking, but once I got a feel for it, I stored the scale. Now I just guesstimate. I usually mix by the rule of thumb already given - in a straight-sided jar (jelly, jam, pickle, olive, etc) I put twice as much solvent as flakes. I've even gone so far as to put a piece of masking tape vertically on the jar and marking 1" and 2" spots. Fill to 1" with flakes, 2" with solvent. I've found this mix builds pretty fast and I can cut it 50/50 with solvent for the initial spit coat. I've never ground up the flakes but I did recently put the buttonlac 'buttons' in a ziploc bag and bang it on the benchtop until they broke up into little pieces. I heat mine by sitting the jar on the clothes dryer (seems like it's always running) and shaking it every time I think of it. Takes anywhere from a couple days to a week (depending on how many shakes I give it). One thing I haven't seen mentioned in this thread but several times in the past: Shellac is a terrific adhesive. I learned the hard way that my method will also force the mixture into the threads of the jar's lid and seal it-but good. I wound up with a he!! of a mess when a jar I was trying to open broke. I now keep a roll of waxed paper handy. I tear off a piece about twice as long and the jar's diameter and fold it up in 4ths. I put it over the jar's top before putting on the lid. Depending on how many times I open & close the jar, I may replace it before throwing the jar out. Since my shop time and project completion rate are sporadic, I try to mix only what I need for a project. I don't bother to try and clean the jar. After I've finished the project (pun intended) I just leave the jar open until the shellac dries and then toss it. If I had the need, I guess I could marry off the small amounts and save it to coat the ends of green logs(?). An alternate method of filling pores (given to me by Paul Radovanic) was when I was making the mission dining table. Oak is a very porous wood and filling it with multiple coats of shellac would have had me at it 'til the cows came home, so he recommended the following: Slather it with BLO and then put on a spit coat of ~1# cut super blonde. Knock down the nibs using a card scraper with a very light touch. I then put on two applications of Por-O-Pac filler darkened with some burnt umber, let it cure for a few days and sealed it with some 2# super blonde. Since I expected it to get some pretty heavy use, I finished the top with two coats of McCloskeys tabletop varnish, sanded between coats and rubbed out with 3M synthetic steel wool using Murphy's Oil soap as the lubricant (a tip from Jeff Jewitt). Both sides of the top got the same finish but I didn't bother to rub out the underside. The table base and chairs all received just shellac (5 or 6 brushed coats). BTW, I'm not good enough to avoid drips and runs on the edges, so (another tip from Paul Rad) I use my finger to clean them up. Brush the shellac on a horizontal surface and then run my finger along the edge/vertical surface to smooth the excess. I still have an old pair of jeans with a shiny spot on the left thigh ;-) HTH, YMMV... Charlie Rodgers Clinton, Maryland |
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139348 | Kirk Eppler <eppler.kirk@g...> | 2004‑12‑07 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
Oops, gotta trun HTML off Kirk Eppler wrote: > I'll follow up Ken G's post with the admonish to get Jeff Jewitt's > book Hand Applied Finishes. He gives a great dissertation on mixing > and applying shellac. After reading his book, I felt confident enough > to try to build a mission table, since I was comfortable with being > able to finish it in some semblance of style. > > I've used the 2 -1 alcohol to flakes ratio, and it works OK. Grinding > does foul up the ration. I bought an out of date postage scale, and it > works great for mixing. Since someone else explained the cuts while I > was typing, I'll spare my fingers. > > Padding shellac is easy, fast etc, and relatively idiot proof, if you > follow the directions in the book. > > Has anyone told you to buy a book yet. I believe Jeff's book is better > than the archives as far as applying, since he has photos instead of > ASCII art. > > >>>Lots of posts in the archive, but any good finishing book should tell >>>you what you need to know, and free to ask us when you have a >>>question. >>> >>> >>on how to work shellac - OK so I'm starting at 1996 and have a ton of >>reading to do. So this is a huge topic, but it's starting to make >>sense. I'm also hoping that a trip to a local mill in Oyster Bay that >>I've found will help with my education alot more than dealing with the >>chuckleheads at the true value. >> >>So can anyone explain the mixing of shellac and the cuts/ratios in >>real simple terms? Do I start with a thin cut and rub on, use pumice >>or a thick cut brushed on and sand down to fill the pores? Any tips >>for dealing with the mill will also be appreciated >> >> > >-- >Kirk Eppler, in Half Moon Bay, with two of Jeff's books, and M >Dresdner's the New Wood Finishing Books as irreplaceble in my library. >Process Development Engineering Eppler.Kirk@g... > -- Kirk Eppler (650) 225-3911 Process Development Engineering Eppler.Kirk@g... |
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139326 | "Peter Williams" <williamsp@n...> | 2004‑12‑07 | RE: getting started w/shellac |
> -----Original Message----- > From: Lawrence H. Smith [mailto:lsmith@s...] > > Given yet more bad news on benzene (often the denaturant) Whoa there, "Benzene"? I don't think so. Methanol is the usual denaturant I think. Benzene is ye olde carcinogenic petrol (gasoline) additive. -- Peter Williams |
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139328 | "Peter Williams" <williamsp@n...> | 2004‑12‑07 | RE: getting started w/shellac |
> -----Original Message----- > From: Gary P. Laroff [mailto:glaroff@c...] > To distill alcohol/water mixtures to get nearly pure alcohol, > benzene is added to the mix. Thanks for clearing up the Benzene thing Gary. I didn't know that it was used in alcohol distillation at all. -- Peter Williams |
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139363 | Darrell & Kathy <larchmont@s...> | 2004‑12‑07 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
Jonathan Peck wrote and I snipped mercilessly: > I've purchased my first two pounds of shellac > So's assuming I finish a project, what are some > tips to get me started with shellac If yer wife doesn't like nasty smells you might want to try the isopropyl alcohol. It's quite mild compared to some of the other stuff I've used. And for sheer gizmotic fun you can't beat a home made magnetic stirrer to whip up yer shellac. I built one from a discarded 5 1/4 inch floppy drive and a couple of those LV rare earth magnets. I've read about shellac application in a number of places. Most will either brush or wipe it on. The brush afflictionados will tell you that you need a very $pecial brush. Me, I use a nasty cheap 4-bit "disposable" brush. It's lasted through a dozen projects and is still going strong. For wiping shellac I use an old sock. I hope you will now realize that shellac is darn near fool proof. If *I* can get away with such crude and sloppy methods then with any amount of care you should encounter no difficulties. Darrell ... today I sent off my Galoot Santa gift which, amongst other things, included one of those floppy-drive shellac stirrers. Here's hoping the Homeland Security folks don't destroy it in a paranoid fenzy. I bet it looks pretty dubious through an xray machine ;^) -- Darrell Oakville ON Wood Hoarder, Blade Sharpener, and Occasional Tool User |
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139386 | "Ken Greenberg" <ken@c...> | 2004‑12‑08 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
On 8 Dec 2004 at 8:27, Hans A. Muller wrote: > Good and clear description Ken, of what to do to get that nice finish. > One question: you talk about 'wet and dry' sandpaper. I suppose you > use it dry? Hans who saw 60 years ago his grandfather do this, but did > not pay enough attention to it.... No, actually I always use it wet. I use mineral oil as a lubricant, but I seem to recall that Jeff Jewitt recommends just using water. Not awake enough yet to look it up quite yet. I use a cork block as a backer, or for something small just wrap it around a wine cork if I can find a straight one (lots have depressions from where they were in the bottle). Sometimes I have to go through many bottles of wine just to find the right cork though... -Ken Ken Greenberg (ken@c...) 667 Brush Creek Rd., Santa Rosa, CA 95404 http://www.calast.com/personal/ken/wood.htm Visit the oldtools book list at http://www.calast.com/personal/ken/booklist.htm |
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139392 | Christopher Swingley <cswingle@i...> | 2004‑12‑08 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
GG's * Ken Greenberg |
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139379 | "Hans A. Muller" <viaconsu@t...> | 2004‑12‑08 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
Good and clear description Ken, of what to do to get that nice finish. One question: you talk about 'wet and dry' sandpaper. I suppose you use it dry? Hans who saw 60 years ago his grandfather do this, but did not pay enough attention to it.... |
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139388 | Ken Meltsner <meltsner@g...> | 2004‑12‑08 | Re: getting started w/shellac |
I finished four bookcase backs (big flat panels of white oak ply) recently. I used Behlen's Wool Lube (which appears to be a very concentrated detergent, not an oil -- the suggestion of Murphy's Oil Soap might be on target) on 400 grit sandpaper (with a teeny bit of water now and then) for rubbing out the shellac. And then I used Johnson's Paste Wax (the old-fashioned stuff -- I have a can for my Shopsmith tables) with a pad of the ultra fine synthetic steel wool. Works well, in my opinion, and I end up with a satin finish. Finish was a light mission oak, slightly yellow/amber to match existing furniture: * Medium or light walnut Watco danish oil * 1 coat garnet shellac * several coats blonde shellac * Level with 400 grit (rubber sanding block) * Smooth with synthetic steel wool (big wad) It does have a few shiny spots where the pores are particularly deep, but the wax evens that up. Worked pretty well, even though I didn't need a table top quality finish. Shellac, as most of us have figured out, is really forgiving. Ken |
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