Hello Peter, glad to see you in the experts forum!
I am in the final stages of a hall table of Australian lacewood (although my understanding is no lacewood is coming from Australia these days?).
The top and aprons are quartersawn. In fact, the growth rings are as close to 90 degrees to the surfaces as you can get! I have had some problems with tearout since the medulary rays are so large, but I have been successful at getting surfaces off my jointer with no tearout (nothing I did on the planer worked…water with thin cuts still tore out, and I’ve had luck with that on very figured wood of other species). So, I am following the clean surfaces off the jointer with a drum sander. My plan is to go through the grits to 220 on the drum sander, and then will follow with final hand sanding to 320.
Do you have any suggested modifications to the above or new ideas for surface preparation of lacewood?
The lacewood for the top and aprons is a “bright” and “light” tannish in color. I have chosen riftsawn 8/4 lacewood for the legs. Hence the figure is much more linear, ordered, and subdued on the legs. This 8/4 material is also considerable darker than the material used for the top and aprons, which I thought would be helpful in grounding the piece.
Finially, there is ebony beading on the bottom of the aprons, and encircling the legs about three inches from the ground. And there is 1/8″ ebony inlay in the tabletop.
I don’t want my finish to darken the wood significantly. My standard finishes (ie. the one’s I’m familar with!) are General’s Arm-R-Seal and Waterlox Original. I don’t expect this hall table to be subjected to much water in it’s life.
What are your suggestions for retaining the “lightness” of color in the lacewood top and aprons? I have concerns that oil will darken it. I don’t currently have access to spraying, but may consider it in the future.
I have 6 sample boards ready for testing finishing ideas!!
Thank you in advance for your insights.
Best regards, Pellaz.
Replies
Hi Pellaz It's nice to be here.
Concerning your preparation; It sounds good to me. I just wonder if you really need to go all the way to 320 although if the 220 is leaving any telltale marks that is the natural progression. I'm sure there would be some discussion here on the merits of sanding versus scraping.
Concerning your finishing techniques;
The first thing I'll say is BRAVO!!! You've got pieces to practice on. I always tell students the best time they will spend is making samples. Sometimes this is a very hard sell. After all once your done designing, milling and fabricating, by the time you get to finishing, you just want it done. There is no time saved by just jumping right onto the piece. You'll end up compensating for this mistake later on.
If you want to keep it as clear and colorless as possible, I would strongly consider shellac.Have you ever used it before? personally I don't use the clear shellac much, I far prefer de-waxed blonde. While it has a slight golden tone , it doesn't significantly alter the color of light woods.
You can use this by itself or as a sealer and topcoat with a varnish. If you put the varnish over a sealer it won't alter the appearance as when you put oil directly on the wood. When using it as a sealer, keep the coat fairly thin. A light sanding with 320 will level it out nicely. Be sure and tack it off and proceed with your varnish.
While you may not have any experience with shellac give it a try. The argument is it's not water proof. Fresh made blonde shellac is actually quite water resistant. Add a light coat of wax to this upon completion, and you've got a good surface. I always tell people shellac is your friend.
I did an article on shellac a while back and it is included in the Fine WoodWorking compilation that is on the stands now. There is also quite a bit on the subject in all the books on finishing. Take some time to learn about it.
Your table sounds spectacular. How about sending us a photo when it's completed.
Good luck with it and keep us posted.
Peter Gedrys
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