>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