I’m at work completing a craftsman style clock as a Christmas gift for my wife. Using quartered curly red oak and I’m going to try Jeff Jewiit’s dye/pigment combination followed with a satin varnish for finish.
I’m still pretty new to wood working and definitely new to finishing figured woods. Am I better off scraping or sanding a figured wood? Is there any advantage to one or the other?
Intuitively, it seems to me that sanding might “muddy” up the curly figure, but like I said I’m new to working figured woods.
Any insight would be much appreciated.
Replies
If you can scrape well, then scrape, you are right it can mud the grain, because figured wood is so complex.
Once you start finishing some would say to sand between coats.
Pino,
For highly figured woods using a penetrating finish such as oil/poly or oil/varnish, the best way it to plane the wood to the finished state. For build top coats such as lacquer, scraping is best. Sanding is the least desirable method since it mutes the grain on figured woods.
Doug
Edited 12/16/2004 4:16 pm ET by Doug
Use a cabinet scraper. The wood will be as smooth as glass. If You don't own cabinet scraper I suggest you purchase one especially if you are going to work with these kinds of wood. I just bought a Veritas scraper and it works great, and it only set me back $45 dollars.
I am going to pick one up on Saturday and learn a new skill.Thanks.
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