Hello all,
I’m making a blanket chest with a couple of drawers. I was going to finish the exterior of the carcass with a polymerized tung oil, and the interior of the chest with shellac (1 lb. cut). The interior is shellac and not the tung oil because I understand that oil finishes inside of a chest will “stink” for years. I have 2 questions.
Firstly, will a “polymerized” tung oil stink on the closed interior of a chest?
Secondly, will using these 2 different finishes on the interior and exterior of the carcass lead to unequal moisture absorption and cause cupping?
Thanking all in advance,
Carl
Replies
You have a chest where the box is closed on four sides, though I presume there is a lid that opens on the top. It is only the lid that has any particular risk of cupping, and is really the only "interior" part that actually needs finish to balance the effects of changing moisture.
In general shellac is more resistant to the passage of water vapor than just about any other finish. You may not get and exact balance, but I doubt it would be of great significance. It will do no harm to use shellac on the rest of the interior. Many like that feeling in makes the interior smoother and easier to clean, but many traditional chests have no interior finish. Cleats, allowing the top to change width, are frequently used to curtail cupping.
I would be concerned that the tung oil finish would offer a lingering odor and would avoid that as you have planned.
Thank you for your help.
I now feel more comfortable with what I'm doing.
I'm planning to put breadboard ends on the top, so hopefully that will help control cupping on the top. Do you think that I require cleats as well, or should the breadboard ends do the job sufficiently?
Breadboard ends should do it. Just remember to affix them so that the top can shrink and swell with the seasons.
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