Replies

1. 
   bigfootnampa | Dec 24, 2007 04:33am | #1

   I would think so!  Such wood is commonly used for stair treads.  It is soft enough that you may get some dings but just distress it a little to begin with and do a rustic sort of finish and repairs will be a breeze!  The wear over many years will create character that will have greater appeal than the most glossy perfect finish ever done.

1. 
   woodlearner | Dec 24, 2007 05:33pm | #4

   Thanks for your help. I think distressing the wood is a good idea, then will figure what type of finish to put on the table. Have a merry xmas.

1. 
   KeithNewton | Dec 24, 2007 07:43pm | #5

   There are plenty of pine tables out there, so don't worry about the choice. However, most is sold as framing lumber, and will only be dried down to something around 16 ~ 20 %, which means that it will tend to shrink a good bit when it dries on down to EMC. The closer to the pith, the more it will cup as it dries, so choose your material carefully, and plan your construction with some movement expected, or otherwise it will self-destruct. If this happens, just think of it as part of the learning curve.

1. 
   woodlearner | Dec 24, 2007 11:05pm | #6

   Thanks for the info. Now I'll get a moisture meter. Have a merry xmas.

2. 
   frenchy | Dec 26, 2007 09:12pm | #8

   woodlearner,

     you have basically three choices for a finish for a table..

      The first and most common is is polyurethane, clear will show off the wood beautifully but looks plastic. or satin which is softer but won't show scratches as easily. The down side of Polyurethane is you must sand it off to refinish it..  Since pine tends to be a bit on the soft side compared to say oak or Maple dings and such will be an issue. 

      You can put wipe on oils etc. on it and they bring out the beauty of the wood wonderfully plus they can be retouched up. (that's good because oils tend not to be very durable and need relatively frequent touch ups).. plus some spills can bleed thru the finish and stain the underlying wood.

      OR shellac.  Shellac is used for fine antiques because it really enhances the beauty of the wood and looks rich and deep  without looking plastic.. Shellac can also be the easiest to apply plus it's safe,, (pills are coated with it as well as candy)  It's affordable and extremely durable plus it's insanely easy to repair scratches or local damage..

     Spilt liquids that are wiped up won't present a problem although if you leave water standing on it for an extended period of time it will turn white.. (again really simple to repair) 

    Shellac is harder than the other two finishes but it's ease of repair is better than the other two finishes.

     I can  give you a method of apply shellac that will have it ready to eat on in about two hours and most of that two hours is spent waiting. Pretty fool proof (which is why I do it)   and frankly it's impossible to screw up..

   Well there are actaully lots of other finishes,, you can paint it or  put one of those water based finishes on it.  You could glue tile onto it or gild it.. then there is milk paint and oil based paint etc..  If you have a spray outfit you can apply laquer finishes.

      

     

    

    

     

1. 
   MikeHennessy | Dec 27, 2007 03:21pm | #11

   Frenchy, I know you like (OK, love) shellac. I do too. It has all the features you extol -- easy to apply, easy to fix, cheap, looks great, etc.

   However, I'm not sure it's a good idea to use it on a dining room or kitchen table. I used shellac on a dining room sideboard and the finish looks gorgeous. The problem is that I have had to repair the top twice because it is very easily damaged by hot dishes -- even if they are placed on hotpads. Sure, it was easy to fix, but if I'd used poly, I wouldn't have needed to fix it. (That said, I left the finish shellac, since I love the look, but I am now more careful not to put hot dishes on it.)

   So, to the OP, shellac is a good choice if you keep hot things away. Far away.

   Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA

1. 
   frenchy | Dec 27, 2007 04:32pm | #12

   Mike,

    Thanks for that heads up.

    I haven't had such experiances and that's amazing because I'm a slob.  I put dripping wet drinks right on shellac and when I realize what I've done pick up the drink and wipe the water off with my sleeve.  (does that say slob or what?)  ;-) 

    To be fair I haven't done my table yet.. but I've set plenty of things on the timbers when have been shellaced.. I guess in retrospect just nothing hot eenough yet..

2. 
   MikeHennessy | Dec 27, 2007 04:58pm | #13

   On mine, the damage was first done by placing a casserole with hot food on a cloth placemat. Placemat sort of stuck to the top and left marks on the top. Stripped the wax and hit the top with another coat of shellac.

   Next time, I figured a thicker mat would solve it, but no such luck. Again, marks, tho' not as bad. Stripped the wax and hit with another coat of shellac.

   Now, if I put hot dishes on the sideboard, I put them on a cutting board on the top, so no more problems.

   Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA

3. 
   frenchy | Dec 27, 2007 05:06pm | #14

   Mike ,

     Oh,   I had a similar problem..I think..

     I was in a rush to finish a bedroom for my daughter and shellaced the floor and the next day put a rug over it.  when I went to remove the rug it had imprinted and actaully stuck in a few places even though the floor was completely dry..

      I can put rugs safely on shellac after a few weeks without the problem occuring but I think the sun heated up the floor and caused it to imprint..

     Same solution..  just wipe up the imprints using denatured alcohol and put another coat on.  fixed about 300 sq.ft. in about 15 minutes..

2. 
   MikeHennessy | Dec 24, 2007 04:44pm | #2

   It'll be fine if you only park the car on it. Keep the truck (at least when it's loaded) off it, tho'.

   ;-)

   Mike Hennessy
   Pittsburgh, PA

3. 
   PCM | Dec 24, 2007 04:53pm | #3

   In my experience, Southern Yellow Pine becomes very hard when it seasons. I have learned to pre-drill all screwholes. Screws do not seem to grip/hold as well as in other woods (I try to use a larger screw), and glue-ups provide strong joints.

   Pete

4. 
   Wingdoctor | Dec 25, 2007 01:45am | #7

   I made table and chairs for my kitchen many years ago, when I couldn't afford to buy them, from yellow pine 2 by lumber. They turned out very nice and the wife and kids, now grown and my oldest daughter just made me a great grandfather through her son 2 weeks ago, still talk about how nice they were. If you buy 2 by 10 or 12's instead of 2 by 4's the lumber will be much nicer and normally you will not have to put up with the pith being present. It takes a larger tree to have enough size to cut the larger sizes from and the lumber will be noticeably nicer. You should still sticker and stack the lumber inside for a while to reduce the moisture content to a workable level. Use a moisture meter you see where you are before you do your initial milling and then stack and sticker again for a few days. Yellow pine is pretty hard and will hold up well. Good luck with your furniture!!

   Merry Christmas to you and yours!!!

5. 
   mike4244 | Dec 27, 2007 01:08am | #9

   Yellow pine is plenty strong for a table. I agree with Frenchy that shellac would be a perfect finish. If I was finishing the table I spray orange ( amber) shellac. I cut the shellac to a 1lb cut.You can brush it also with the same cut. After it dries ( usually less than 15 minutes) apply another coat. Do this until the color tone you like is achieved.

   If you use dewaxed shellac you can safely varnish over it. I reccomend you do this so water spots won't be an issue. When I varnish a large project I cut the varnish with thinner,similar to cutting shellac. I apply with a brush and wipe off the excess with a clean cotton wiping cloth. This is the same as "wiping varnish" except you make your own.You need at least four coats of wiping varnish over the shellac.Wiping varnish dries fairly quick, usually you can apply the coats four hours apart.

   I forgot to mention sanding, after the first coat of shellac you need to sand the fuzz. I would sand the first coat lightly with 320 paper. Check your finish after each time it dries,if it needs sanding ,320 grit and remove the dust. I rarely have to sand after the second coat with dust nibs being the exception. Then I use the fine scotch brite pads made for finishing.If I recall I used the gray ones.

   mike

6. 
   PCM | Dec 27, 2007 04:38am | #10

   Let me add to what has been said after my first input. When I sand SYP with a block or sander I find that the "winter grain"-the darker -is harder than the "summer grain"-the lighter-, causing an uneven surface. Use a raking light to get the effect you want. 

   If I was to finish a SYP kitchen table, I would "wet sand" with 400 then 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper with lots of BLO and turpentine. Wipe off slurry, let dry, checking periodically for bleed, which needs to be wiped off. Let dry several days (depending on climate/temp/humidity/etc.)

   A coat of amber (orange )shellac then a shellac sealer coat, two coats of gloss poly, tone the gloss down with a final semi-gloss or satin poly depending on your taste. The oil and shellac will bring out the natural beauty of SYP, the poly will give you a protective surface that is also "elastic", staying intact when kids write on it,  utensils get dropped, etc.

   This sounds like a long, drawn out process, but it isn't! The results are worth the effort.

   Pete  

   
   

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   Edited 12/26/2007 8:41 pm ET by PCM