Replies

1. 
   notDusty | Jun 08, 2005 08:28am | #1

                    328ww,

                                 When I think of burnishing wood , I think of lathe turnings and after sanding the turning you can take some of the fine sawdust of the turned wood and place it in a rag and sort of finish sand the piece with the wood dust, while the lathe is turning .This causes the wood pores to close and creates a polished look , it is caused by the friction and wood dust , heat and the rag rubbing against the wood . I have never heard of burnishing wood in other ways .

                                   dusty

2. 
   forestgirl | Jun 08, 2005 08:39am | #2

   Posing a question here -- Do you incorporate burnishing only for blotch-prone woods such as cherry?  In the past I've seen cautions here at Knots to avoid burnishing wood, at least wood that'll be stained.  My finishing experience has been limited to pretty easy woods so far (white oak, red oak and alder, which is a bit tricky).

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
   Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   328ww | Jun 08, 2005 09:49am | #3

   forestgirl,cherry is very prone to blotching with a simple oil finish.
   one method i've used to partially avoid this with great result is to burnish the piece with 0000 steel wool. without it,,, the grain tends to shift in color and tone,,,,,and not in a good way328 ww's

1. 
   forestgirl | Jun 08, 2005 06:06pm | #6

   "cherry is very prone to blotching with a simple oil finish."  That's what I was getting at, that you  burnish to prevent blotching.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   jazzdogg | Jun 10, 2005 05:45am | #7

   I get the same results - a blotch-free oil finish on cherry - when sanding-in Liberon finishing oil (220-grit, 320, 400, 600); the wood fibers and lignin are heated and subject to heat through friction, which forces the oil into the wood tissues before it polymerizes, which can result in a full 1/4" of penetration in some species.-Jazzdogg-

   Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.

1. 
   forestgirl | Jun 10, 2005 07:19pm | #8

   Thanks, Jazz.  Sounds like a technique that would work well on the denser blotch-prone wood like cherry.  Maybe not alder?  I like the wet-sanding approach in general.  Will give it a try on some cherry.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

2. 
   jazzdogg | Jun 11, 2005 04:05am | #9

   FG,

   I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results!

   My favorite product is Liberon Finishing Oil (and their Black Bison paste wax):

   Scrape/Sand the bare wood through 200-grit to eliminate mill marks, and other surface imperfections;

   Apply finishing oil with 220-grit silicon-carbide wet-or-dry abrasive, creating an oil & sawdust slurry to fill the pores. Work in relatively small areas;

   Wipe off excess oil with a clean lint-free rag (dispose of rags carefully to void spontansous combustion);

   Check the surface avery few hours for finish that may weep out of the pores as the oil polymerizes - wipe away the blemishes;

   Day two: Sand in finishing oil with 320-grit, following the same procedures;

   Day three: 400-grit;

   Day four: 600-grit;

   Wait at least a week before waxing

   Good luck,-Jazzdogg-

   Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.

3. 
   forestgirl | Jun 11, 2005 08:57am | #10

   Thanks for the detailed regimen, Jazz.  Can I have a drink on Day five?  Seems like I'll need it!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

4. 
   jazzdogg | Jun 11, 2005 07:47pm | #13

   It only sounds that way - it's actually quite easy, and you can enjoy the libation of your choosing at any time during the process, as no power tools are involved!-Jazzdogg-

   Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.

5. 
   Miami | Jun 11, 2005 04:08pm | #11

   JD,

   I'm also a big fan of the Liberon Finishing Oil ... but, the finishing/'Liberon store' in Ft. Bragg, CA no longer carries it.  In fact, for my last walnut chair, I ended up getting a can 'on the black market' (bought an unopened can from another WWer, who wouldn't even have sold it to me for the inflated price, if it had been his last one).

   Can you share with me a source that still carries it?

   Clay

6. 
   jazzdogg | Jun 11, 2005 07:33pm | #12

   Miami,

   There are two or three sources here in San Diego; one that you are likely to have access to is Rockler, though there are doubtless other catalog and e-mail providers as well.

   I'm "hooked" on a few Liberon/Star products: finishing oil, Black Bison paste wax, their unoiled steel wool, and Star products' oil-based pore filler (IMO, Enduro makes the best water-based pore filler).

    -Jazzdogg-

   Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.

7. 
   forestgirl | Jun 11, 2005 08:15pm | #14

   Is the store you refer to Wood Finish Supply?  They still have it on their web site, wonder what the deal is....

   Here's a cool woodworking site that carries it, Tools for Woodworking.  While you're there, take a look at the "mini-exhibits" in their Museum of Woodworking Tools. 

   Otherwise, here's a Froogle page on Liberon.  Rockler is predominant, but there are a couple others:http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=Liberon+finishing+oil&btnG=Searchforestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

3. 
   mikegagne | Jun 08, 2005 10:23am | #4

   burnishing technically is heating the lignans in the wood to create a shine on the surface of the wood piece. This can be accomplished with the wood shavings on a lathe turned piece or a metal object rubbed against the wood. Burnishing can be overdone also which is what you see when a saw blade rubs against a piece being cut causing a darkening or burning on the surface. Aloha, Mike

1. 
   Ricks503 | Jun 08, 2005 05:26pm | #5

   Also, what happens is that the heat at least partially seals the pores a bit to help in a more even staining - generally most effective on wood with large pores or woods prone to blotching (usually one and the same)1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go        4 - get a new board and go back to step 1