Best process to finish and treat elm timber

[Steve Bullman]

44 minutes ago, agg221 said:

Elm has interlocking grain which is often quite contorted, so sanding is a better option than planing. I've done several floors-worth of it, milling and through the thicknesser which gets it dimensioned but not smooth unless the blades are absolutely sharp.

 

Do you want a gloss finish, a satin finish or a near-matt finish?

 

Given that it will be a table top, it will inevitably be subject to some wear. I would therefore either go with a hard wearing varnish and accept that it will need occasional sanding off and re-finishing, or sanded in oil (boiled linseed or, for preference, tung, or even Danish). Once you have sanded to remove all marks, apply the oil to the level where the surface is wet, not just damp, and sand it over lengthways at about 240 or 320 grit and then rub the oil/sanding dust slurry in to the surface across the grain using the heel of your hand. This will fill the grain. A couple of goes at this 24hrs apart if outdoors, 12hrs apart if indoors, followed by a couple more coats simply wiped on with a cloth will give a solid finish which is easy to wax over, and if it ever gets damaged you just need to clean off with turps or a furniture restoration cleaner and put another coat of oil over. Danish oil can go on thicker and doesn't necessarily need the wax.

 

Alec

What’s the need for wax on top of oil? I thought it was one or the other 

[agg221]

9 minutes ago, Steve Bullman said:

What’s the need for wax on top of oil? I thought it was one or the other 

It's not a need as such, just a difference in finish. Most oils on their own tend to be quite thin as finishes, more soaking in than building up (Danish is a bit of an exception which is more like a varnish), leaving a finish that brings out the colour and grain as though it was wet, but you see the wood surface pretty much as you left it, so they tend to have a certain matt quality. Waxes build up on the surface and give a sheen but on their own they don't tend to give that 'wet' look that brings out the colour and the grain. If you put wax over oil you get a deep lustre which brings out the colour and intensity of the grain. It is also easy to maintain, just needing a bit more wax every six months or so. If you are very good at varnishing you can get the same look, but I always get a bit of dust or a few streaks in it. Also, when varnish gets damaged it is more of a pain to re-finish.

 

Alec

Edited December 28, 2021 by agg221

[dumper]

9 minutes ago, agg221 said:

I do like walnut oil and have used it in the past, but got slightly wary when I found that people who are allergic to nuts can also be triggered by the oil. I decided that since I couldn't be certain who might touch something in the future and there were other options I would stick to them, so tend to use linseed or tung now instead.

 

Alec

Isn’t tung oil from nuts 

[agg221]

2 minutes ago, dumper said:

Isn’t tung oil from nuts 

It might be a nut, or it might be a seed, but there don't appear to be any allergic reactions to it:

 

https://tungoil.co.uk/nut-allergies/

 

Alec

[ucoulddoit]

If the planks have a natural edge which you want to retain, I've found a nylon wire brush and a soft foam sanding drum, both of which can be used in a hand held electric drill, works well for finishing an uneven surface. On a really rough/uneven edge such as a burr, the nylon wire brush can get right into the crevices and leaves a burnished finish which doesn't need sanding. Both are stocked by Axminster Tools and are in the photo below. Would be good to see some before and after pictures of the planks.

 

Andrew

[Macpherson]

5 hours ago, Stere said:

I used a few coats of walnut  oil on some tool handles I made from oak  as I had it to hand.

 

It  was from middle of  lidl, sold as a cooking oil.

 

Came up nice didn't darken the wood at all but  it left a nice finish, and they do sell/use it as a wood finishing oil....

 

what is the best oil for treating wood? - Robin Wood

WWW.ROBIN-WOOD.CO.UK

---

I get asked a lot of questions about woodturning and what is the best oil for treating wood is one of the most common so...

 

 

Excellent link, I particularly enjoyed the video of Robin making the George Lailey commemorative set of bowls using the traditional method, thanks for sharing.

[Steve Bullman]

These are the boards I have to work with. One on the left will be a console table and I’m hoping to get a coffee table out of the one on the right.

 

coupke questions, how to fill the little holes. And do I just sand down the nobbly bits on the edge? Cause my lack of correct terminology 😀

[Steve Bullman]

Also I’ve done yew boards to play with. I think these are going to become multi tiered displayed stands for shows

[ucoulddoit]

6 hours ago, Steve Bullman said:

couple questions, how to fill the little holes. And do I just sand down the nobbly bits on the edge? Cause my lack of correct terminology 

I'd flatten and smooth the surface to 120 grit paper before filling the holes. Lots of options for filling the holes. I like using clear cast polyester resin with bronze powder which polishes to a shiny bronze/gold colour. Put a generous amount of hardener into the resin before mixing, then add the powder until it's a really thick consistency, a bit like car body filler. Once cured, continue sanding using steadily finer grits up to say 400. Others use coloured resin, or glue mixed with sawdust from the plank being filled. Some folk wouldn't fill them at all! Just a matter of personal opinion as to what's right. I knew a guy who finished all his stuff using a steel wire brush to roughen the surfaces whereas most people would expect a sanded finish. Who's to say what's right?

 

How dry is the plank? If it drys and shrinks when brought into the house the resin might loosen, but again, that matters to some people, but not others.

 

What to do with the edge of a plank? No right answer again, but the console table plank has a nice shape in my opinion, so I'd probably just use the nylon wire brush in a drill to remove any loose material. Then use the foam sanding drum to free hand shape the edge, rounding the top and bottom edges slightly and also removing any sharp or protruding bits, but I'd retain most of the knobbly bits. But, if I was making this for my sister who doesn't like natural edges, I'd cut them off and form a curved edge with rounded corners on top and bottom using a router.

 

Andrew

Edited December 29, 2021 by ucoulddoit

[Steve Bullman]

1 hour ago, ucoulddoit said:

I'd flatten and smooth the surface to 120 grit paper before filling the holes. Lots of options for filling the holes. I like using clear cast polyester resin with bronze powder which polishes to a shiny bronze/gold colour. Put a generous amount of hardener into the resin before mixing, then add the powder until it's a really thick consistency, a bit like car body filler. Once cured, continue sanding using steadily finer grits up to say 400. Others use coloured resin, or glue mixed with sawdust from the plank being filled. Some folk wouldn't fill them at all! Just a matter of personal opinion as to what's right. I knew a guy who finished all his stuff using a steel wire brush to roughen the surfaces whereas most people would expect a sanded finish. Who's to say what's right?

 

How dry is the plank? If it drys and shrinks when brought into the house the resin might loosen, but again, that matters to some people, but not others.

 

What to do with the edge of a plank? No right answer again, but the console table plank has a nice shape in my opinion, so I'd probably just use the nylon wire brush in a drill to remove any loose material. Then use the foam sanding drum to free hand shape the edge, rounding the top and bottom edges slightly and also removing any sharp or protruding bits, but I'd retain most of the knobbly bits. But, if I was making this for my sister who doesn't like natural edges, I'd cut them off and form a curved edge with rounded corners on top and bottom using a router.

 

Andrew

Thanks for all the tips. Wood is very dry, been sitting in a barn for about 4 years. 
 

Is this the bronze stuff you mean? Like the idea of that.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Polycraft-Bronze-Powder-Cold-Filler/dp/B00364PJ9E/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?crid=LJP1J2ZX6CX9&keywords=bronze+powder+for+resin&qid=1640806148&sprefix=bronze+powder%2Caps%2C58&sr=8-13