JBark
WoW Member
Posts: 163
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Post by JBark on Apr 21, 2010 19:46:41 GMT -6
Did you change your mind at all about using walnut over mahogany? I took a trip to Hearne Hardwoods out this way and was drooling over the beautiful stuff they sell. I was there for some gorgeous poplar (building a simple art/craft table for my daughter) and I can't wait to get back there to buy something breathtaking.
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Post by Ruffnek on Apr 23, 2010 6:22:53 GMT -6
I thought I replied to this yesterday??? Oh well, I guess not. I nearly always review my posts first and sometimes I forget to "post reply' when I'm done reviewing and editing. CRS I guess. John, I'm staying with the walnut as I've already paid for having it milled to 12/4. Besides, i'd hate to screw up $2000 worth of Honduras Mahogany on something I haven't done before. The Bombe' will be a huge challenge to my , ahem, skills.  |
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rhull
WoW Member
Posts: 422
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Post by rhull on Apr 23, 2010 7:55:34 GMT -6
The Bombe' will be a huge challenge to my , ahem, skills. Oh, paLEASE. You're one of the most skilled woodworkers on this forum. |
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Post by Ruffnek on Apr 23, 2010 15:00:34 GMT -6
That's a very nice compliment, Rob but you don't get to see my mistakes. ;D
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rhull
WoW Member
Posts: 422
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Post by rhull on Apr 23, 2010 16:03:14 GMT -6
Everybody makes mistakes. It takes skill to recover from those mistakes. Since we rarely see any of your mistakes...'nuff said.
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sawduster
Moderator 
The Motley Crew
Posts: 1,831
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Post by sawduster on Apr 23, 2010 16:16:02 GMT -6
Everybody makes mistakes. It takes skill to recover from those mistakes. Since we rarely see any of your mistakes...'nuff said. Yup! |
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JBark
WoW Member
Posts: 163
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Post by JBark on Apr 24, 2010 8:24:49 GMT -6
John, I'm staying with the walnut as I've already paid for having it milled to 12/4. Besides, i'd hate to screw up $2000 worth of Honduras Mahogany on something I haven't done before. The Bombe' will be a huge challenge to my , ahem, skills. [/quote] I didn't remember that you'd already bought it. $2000?...is that what thick stuff costs? Wow. I'll be honest though I've never tried something as complicated as a bombe I think they are not that tough to build. I should ask what kind you are building, aren't there some that have straight inner case sides? A lot of work but I think you can figure it out. |
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Post by Ruffnek on Apr 24, 2010 11:01:35 GMT -6
John, I'm staying with the walnut as I've already paid for having it milled to 12/4. Besides, i'd hate to screw up $2000 worth of Honduras Mahogany on something I haven't done before. The Bombe' will be a huge challenge to my , ahem, skills. I didn't remember that you'd already bought it. $2000?...is that what thick stuff costs? Wow. I'll be honest though I've never tried something as complicated as a bombe I think they are not that tough to build. I should ask what kind you are building, aren't there some that have straight inner case sides? A lot of work but I think you can figure it out. Thanks for the vote of confidence, John. I checked the prices at Irion lumber. 12/4 Mahogany (non-figured) is $12 per bf + $3 for the 20" plus width that I need. Now, figuring 60 bf for the Bombe', that's only $900. The problem is that they have a minimum mail order of 150 bf that brings it to $2250 excluding shipping charges. I have a friend from Lafayette who is working a 14/14 rotation in Pennsylvania and New york drilling shale gas wells. He is willing to pick up lumber at Irion for me but I thought on this first piece, I would stay with Walnut. I think I'm gonna do our entire set of bedroom furniture anyway and Walnut is definitely period correct on many of those pieces. The particular Bombe' I will be attempting is touted as the highest example of that particular form. It has the serpentine front with the drawer faces (also cut from 12/4 stock) following the curve of the case sides. The drawer sides also curve to follow the case sides. The case sides and front of the drawer blades are beaded and mitered at the intersection. I'm still trying to decide whether to do the beads with a shop made scratch stock or go ahead and splurge on the Veritas beading tool. It's been fun to plan and think about the build. I hope the actual construction is half as much fun. I'll be hand-cutting dovetails and carving ball and claw feet for the first time on a project. I've only done it for practice so far. |
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Stretch
WoW Member
Mark Muhr
Posts: 461
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Post by Stretch on Apr 24, 2010 11:11:48 GMT -6
Okay Cody. Let's get together on this one and do a custom finish. This piece is gonna deserve a finish that is up to par with the woodworking that is gonna go into it. Plus we can turn it into a tutorial for the forum.
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Post by Ruffnek on Apr 24, 2010 11:50:31 GMT -6
Okay Cody. Let's get together on this one and do a custom finish. This piece is gonna deserve a finish that is up to par with the woodworking that is gonna go into it. Plus we can turn it into a tutorial for the forum. I'm way ahead of you Stretch...even if you didn't know it yet. ;D Yep, if it turns out okay ( is a keeper) then I definitely want you to do the finish. I'll learn a lot and hopefully, so will the members here. I'll volunteer to be the cameraman. After finishing, we can collaborate on the text to go with the pictures. That oughta be a fun exercise. |
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JBark
WoW Member
Posts: 163
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Post by JBark on Apr 28, 2010 15:39:55 GMT -6
Okay Cody. Let's get together on this one and do a custom finish. This piece is gonna deserve a finish that is up to par with the woodworking that is gonna go into it. Plus we can turn it into a tutorial for the forum. I'm curious...what would you choose as the best finish for this? |
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Stretch
WoW Member
Mark Muhr
Posts: 461
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Post by Stretch on Apr 28, 2010 21:25:17 GMT -6
Okay Cody. Let's get together on this one and do a custom finish. This piece is gonna deserve a finish that is up to par with the woodworking that is gonna go into it. Plus we can turn it into a tutorial for the forum. I'm curious...what would you choose as the best finish for this? That depends on if it is to be period correct or not. Honestly for period correct, I really don't know. I'd assume it would be shellac, but I really have no experience reproducing period finishes. What I'll suggest for Cody is a hand rubbed lacquer finish. IMO it offers the best combination of protection and beauty. Since there is going to be carvings on it, I'll suggest a glaze to really pop the details on the carvings and give the piece an appearance of age. There's not a lot of detail available in the pic, but it's the best I have of a piece in walnut, and it's about what I'd be shooting for unless Cody has other ideas for the final color of the piece.  Here's a detail shot of a carved pedestal I did a while back. It's actually made if basswood and was still in an intermediate stage of the finishing project, but you can get an idea of the effect of a glaze on a carving.  Here's a pic of the table the carving was a part of.  My favorite brand of lacquer is M.L. Campbell. For a rubbed out finish, I use gloss lacquer. Wait a day after the final coat is dry. Sand out the finish with 320 then rub out with the grain with 00 steel wool. Then wax. After the wax is buffed out, you can adjust the sheen by lightly rubbing the wax with 0000 steel wool. For the glaze I mix Van Dyke Brown UTC tinting color in a 1:1 mix with paint thinner. Wipe the glaze on and wipe it off with a rag leaving some in the crevasses and corners. After it dries, you do a final adjusting of the amount of glaze by buffing with 0000 steel wool. Then you top coat over the glaze coat with lacquer. Here's the source I use for the UTC tinting color, it's on page nine: www.hoodfinishing.com/Literature/Cat_2010_V-1.pdf Hopefully we'll be putting together a full on tutorial out of this thing which will be much more detailed than what I've said here and with pics. ;D |
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Post by Ruffnek on Apr 29, 2010 6:50:53 GMT -6
I assumed that Stretch would use some form of lacquer finish. I wouldn't apply poly to the chest but other than that, I'm not too particular.
It's a common misconception that shellac was the finish of choice among 18th century furniture makers. According to Jeffrey Greene's "American Furniture of the 18th Century", shellac was usually not refined well enough to be used on furniture. in addition, it had to be imported from England and the tariffs levied on it made it cost prohibitivel as a finish. Gum sandarach, a spirit varnish was the most commonly used finish. Shellac wasn't widely used in America until the early 19th century when the new republic began direct import from India.
I think shellac is thought of as "period correct" because it was available then though not in the refined versions that we get today.
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JBark
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Posts: 163
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Post by JBark on May 2, 2010 9:58:08 GMT -6
I assumed that Stretch would use some form of lacquer finish. I wouldn't apply poly to the chest but other than that, I'm not too particular. It's a common misconception that shellac was the finish of choice among 18th century furniture makers. According to Jeffrey Greene's "American Furniture of the 18th Century", shellac was usually not refined well enough to be used on furniture. in addition, it had to be imported from England and the tariffs levied on it made it cost prohibitivel as a finish. Gum sandarach, a spirit varnish was the most commonly used finish. Shellac wasn't widely used in America until the early 19th century when the new republic began direct import from India. I think shellac is thought of as "period correct" because it was available then though not in the refined versions that we get today. Give that man a cheroot. |
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Post by Ruffnek on May 2, 2010 14:32:10 GMT -6
Thank you, John. I'll save it and smoke it later if that's all right.  |
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