I am fairly new to woodworking. I retired and built a 24 X 34 woodworking shop which is generously furnished. I am not going to do any work for hire. I have completed a major furniture project using walnut and walnut crotchwood veneer. I have 800-1000 hours and $2,000 invested in the project. My problem is that I do not have the nerve to attempt to do the finish work on the project and have an agreement with a competent finish man but I cannot get him to work on MY project. He is extraordinarily busy(the good ones are) and he keeps putting me off. My work is now sitting in his shop suffering through the humidity changes we have in the south. For the last few days the humidity has not been below 90%. I have now been waiting for three months.
I am losing sleep at night worring that my work will self distruct. Anyone willing to give me a realistic assessment of what is happening to the unprotected walnut joints. I have all kinds of joints in the project from M & T to dovetail.
I have seriously considered buying a good HVLP unit and attempting the work myself after a few practice runs. I would also appreciate some advise on going that route.
Edited 5/2/2004 11:17 pm ET by Coolbreeze
Replies
If properly designed and constructed, a piece should weather humidity changes without difficulty.
TS, Thanks for your reply. Are you saying that the raw wood will be OK for a while? I have been holding off milling the backs of the upper cabinet because the length will be 39" and random widths of 4-6" while the thickness is only a half inch. My experience with thin stock is that you will get some cupping. I have saved some choice straight grain stock for that purpose, but I have had some straight grain cup when cut thin. The wood is as dry as can be given my high humidity.
To be honest, I wake up in the middle of the night and start thinking about the possibility of joint failure because there is no protective finish on it. Sometimes I can't go back to sleep for several hours
Coolbreeze,
You want to minimize the time between milling, cutting joinery and assembling. Once assembled, properly designed and constructed furniture will not have problems sitting around waiting for finishing. Of course, you would like to start finishing as soon as the glue has set/cured but once assembled the piece should resist movement where it can and allow for movement where it can't resist.
"The wood is as dry as can be given my high humidity." This leads me to think you've been wrongly educated on moisture and wood. It is NOT best to have as dry wood as you can. It is BEST to have wood as equilibrated as you can. If the RH is very high, then the amount of moisture in the wood should also raise. The wood does this naturally....but the rate of moisture exchange between the inside of the wood and the exposed surfaces is very slow....can take many days for even a 1 inch thick board to reach even moisture throughout the board. for best joinery and buidling, you should be very much aware of the RH and hence MC of your wood when building. If you've had a sudden swing in RH...say it has been a very comfy 40% RH for the past month and now it shoots up to 90% for a day or two. Be careful milling any boards as they're likely to warp on you....it is better to wait for a few days than to end up frustrated with boards that won't set still long enough for you cut the joinery.Tim
Tim,
Good reply.
What I have done with success is mill down to within 1/16th of final, sticker for several weeks and when I am ready, let the jointer flatten and then plane to the final width.
Overall, I am encouraged that the many hours and $ I have invested will not self destruct. The finisher I am working with is really worth the wait if i do not sacrifice on the structural integrity of the work piece.
Fred
Coolbreeze,
I'd suggest you retrieve your piece from the recalcitrant finisher, buy a few books on finishing, read them for fun, and start experimenting with various finishing schemes using the walnut scrap and other offcuts you have in your shop as test pieces.
You're in no hurry, and there's no need to worry about the outcome when playing with test pieces, so have fun, and don't proceed to your completed project until you feel confident and comfortable enough to tackle the project without undue anxiety.
I suggest that you keep a notebook to track the specifics so you'll be able to confidently reproduce the finishes you're happy with when it's time to commence finishing on a large scale. I keep a notebook AND record notes on adhesive labels that I apply to the backs of my test pieces. By the way, sometimes failed experiments are more valuable than the successes, e.g., staining maple!
One of the challenges with walnut is a "cool" appearance (versus warm and inviting), especially when using water-borne products. Your test pieces will help you eliminate finishes that don't pass muster before you begin finishing for real.
It's hard to go wrong with the appearance of a sanded-in oil finish on walnut. It's virtually foolproof, beautiful, yields a deep-looking, lustrous, finish, and it's a very forgiving method for beginning finishers (I really like Liberon Finishing Oil). You'll have to judge for yourself whether you find the labor required to produce this finish worthwhile on the basis of your test pieces.
Good luck,
-Jazzdogg-
Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.
Jazzdog,
I took a weekend class taught by Bob Flexner. He suggested rubbed shellac. I had planned to do that, but the piece has a lot of pieces that would be difficult to rub(fluted capital and pallisters) I also did the upper cabinet doors in individual pane Chippendale. There are 80 pieces, front and back to the mutins. Also, there 8 serpentine drawers in the gallery that have walnut fronts and half blind dovetail maple cases. The big drawers on the lower case has crotchwood veneer face over solid straight grained walnut and half blind dovetail oak for the cases. I guess you can see why I am reluctant to try the project myself
If I do not get the finisher to start on my piee soon, I will attempt the finish myself.
... the piece has a lot of pieces that would be difficult to rub(fluted capital and pallisters)..."
Coolbreeze,
I understand your concerns, and the challenges you cite certainly sound as though they would require some time and effort, but they don't sound exactly difficult.
You may be surprised at how fulfilled and satisfied you'll feel if you decide to tackle this project yourself. As I'm sure Mr. Flexner pointed out, shellac is very forgiving to work with, and the results can be quite beautiful. From my perspective, you have nothing to lose but some time and elbow grease, and everything to gain.
My mantra on large-scale projects is "There's only one way to eat an elephant: one bite at a time."
Have fun - life is short,
-Jazzdogg-
Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.
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