. . . working projects that is. So I made this insulator light for the clubs gift exchange. Chuck Inlow ended up with it. It is a telephone insulator drilled and plumbing fixtures for the pipe work and fitted with a bulb.
and I made this coat rack for my niece
That bottom picture shows the inlay work and the deep rich color and grain of the wood which is toasted maple.
Now if your a wood working you have to add two things to your list of things to work with. One is toasted maple, if you can find it. The wood is the same wood as maple syrup is made from. In its unaltered state it is the same light color of regular maple. But they take this stuff to a kiln and burn it, well caramelize it actually. It burns the sap and turns it the color of maple syrup. This is throughout the wood not just on the surface so sanding, routing, and carving don’t effect it. Best part is when you work with it the shop smells like pancakes. In the birds eye form like above is simply one of the most beautiful woods you will work with in my opinion.
The other thing is boiled linseed oil. The above has no stain or any other finish other than linseed oil and wax. Now it is a slow process if done right and it is a very old way to do things but I love the look. It just has a deep rich look and if done right looks great. Now this one isn’t done right because I had to hurry to get it done. The right way (I got this from an antique furniture restorer and seems to be backed up online) is a process remembered by ones. You apply linseed oil pretty liberally once an hour for a day, once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, and once a year after that. On the first day you really don’t do it for a whole day but I do it 5-6 times every hour or two. You apply the linseed oil and wet sand with progressively finer grits. I start with 150, 220, 320, then 400 for every other sanding. When done sanding each application wipe off and let dry. Then I just apply the oil liberally every day for the rest of that week and let it dry. Apply new oil over the old stuff. When you go to the once a week mode for three weeks (rest of the month) I do a light sanding with 400 grit between coats. The idea is this is not a built up finish it is allowing the oil to soak deep into the wood. When the month is up you will then use furniture wax and apply it with a very fine steel wool. Apply it in a circular motion (wax on, wax off Danielson). Then buff off with a clean soft rag. I will do this as many times as necessary to polish the wood. Look down the face at an angle in light and you will see uneven areas keep working them out. Finally take cotton face cleansing pads and buff the heck out of it until they come back virtually clean. Then once a month for a year you repeat this process of adding a coat of oil letting sit til dry and then apply wax with steel wool and taking it off with a soft rag then buffing with cotton. After a year the wood will damn near be waterproof and will shine like a new penny.
The above has six coats of linseed oil (sanded 3 times with 150,320, 400 and three just applied and allowed to dry) and four coats of wax. It has dull spots and is not as rich as it can be. I did a piece of black walnut for the full regimen and it came out awesome. But really the one month routine is usually enough for a great finish that is deep and natural looking.
