It’s the number one fear for most woodworkers, a little agitated skip from foot to foot as you toss the rag from hand to hand. I understand this. Mostly it’s because it’s an area of work that is indeed the least predictable for a guaranteed outcome and especially if your read up on the subject…
I’ve used a wide range of so called Danish oil products made by different manufacturers. The one thing they all have in common is the Danes had nothing to do with it. There is no such thing as Danish oil as an oil, and there is no recipe that constitutes Danish oil. If I took…
Finishes come in many different forms. The confusion is great and opinions based only on opinion and little more serve to make things worse. I’ll try not add only opinion but tell from my personal experiences. It might work. Oils intended to soak into surface fibres are supposed to, as they seem always to say…
One thing I’m learning about more modern ways is that we should reconsider how we actually consider things rather than just accept or dismiss them. I suppose I am asking myself, “What lens are you looking at this through, Paul?” In times past I have changed my drink from say coffee to an alternative hot…
Contactless finishing I generally pick my weapons of attack to match the work battles I encounter so I have learned a few things about finishing through the years. There is no doubt that giving a good finish is critical in an age when furniture makers must no only make but finish too. Just about the time when…
From my Journal Tuesday 7th February 2017 Finishing the Dresser Chest of Drawers Applying the finish for many woodworkers is often a daunting task ahead but with the right brush and technique it need not be. With the video series concluded and posted we made a finishing video for everyone to follow to conclude the…
Question: I just made a set of these for my oilstones. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to redo them now because I look at yours and then I look at mine and then I look at yours and then I need new boxes that look like you made them and not me! I’ve heard one…
To read more about choosing a finish on our Common Woodworking site, click here. To read more about what finishes to buy, click here. Rounding Up On Shellac I was asked if the violet colourant makes a difference to the coat clarity or does it evaporate with the spirit as drying comes to completion. The…
Making shellac is a simple process whereby we dissolve the flakes of shellac we buy into 190-proof denatured alcohol which we either buy through license here in the UK or we use Methylated spirits, which is denatured alcohol with an added violet colouring and any of a number of other additives that make the Meths…
We concluded the Tool Chest Build a few short months ago on the woodworkingmasterclasses.com online instruction for woodworkers and it was a great success all round. Below is how it looked after we finished it using brushed-on shellac as a practical yet beautiful protective finish. Finishing with shellac is very simple and effective and especially…