Working with Oak, for most woodworkers is a joy. Despite the fact that Oak is a heavy wood work with, it produces such excellent finished products it is hard to avoid using it. One of the beauties of Oak is that it can contain visible “figure”, that is, areas where the grain runs a bit different than normal creating a pleasing pattern. These pleasing patterns can sometimes have their own problems when it comes to finishing.
One of the biggest problems we see with projects that are made from Oak is the miss-matching of grains. If you want to get a good finish on any wood project it is imperative that you try to match the grains as best you can. For example if you are creating table top or the side of a bureau, all the wood you use should be flat sawn, quarter sawn or rift sawn – NOT some of each. Each cut of wood absorbs stain differently which means, depending on the angle of light and the angle of view, the stained wood can appear uneven or mottled.
The second most frequent problem we see, is lack of finishing. Oak needs to be finished with very fine sandpaper like 280 or 320 grit in order for it to look nice when the final finishes are applied. The sanding process, particularly with finer grits will also create sawdust that will linger in the open-grain of the Oak. To remove this completely we recommend at the very least a tack cloth of mineral spirits, or to use your compressor and actually blow the dust out (this would have to be done out-or-doors for safety reasons). Only by getting all the sawdust out of the open pores of the Oak can you be assured of some success in your finishing.
Staining pine woodworking projects is something almost every woodworker either has done or will do. Pine is such a lovely material to work with, it's easy on the tools, reasonably priced and available almost everywhere. If you have worked with pine you will probably agree one of the challenges of the wood is finishing it, particularly staining it.
One of the problems with Pine is that if often will not take stain evenly. When this happens it looks like the woodworker either made a mistake or didn't know what they were doing, which is not the case. The reason Pine often produces a mottled look when staining is characteristic of the wood it's elf. Here's the problem … often new wood is mixed with old wood when gluing boards together, and even within some boards there can be “figure” which means the grain structure changes direction or density. All of these problems manifest themselves in how the wood absorbs stain – hence mottling very often occurs.
Sadly it doesn't matter how much you sand or with what grits, there is nothing you can do mechanically to overcome this problem. It a factor of the wood, and because Pine is such a light colored wood it shows up more readily. But there is hope and there are solutions.
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WOW … That's the best word I can use to describe the new spray-on stain from Krylon. When I first heard of this product I was a bit skeptical, after all how could someone actually put a stain in a spray can that wouldn't clog up the nozzle. Well, someone at Krylon figured out how to do it, and it works like a charm!
I am quite familiar with Krylon products, I have used a number of them and they are all excellent. This new spray-can stain is another excellent product. The reason a spray stain is so attractive is because there are a lot of projects that are difficult (and messy) to get at with typical paint brush or wipe on stains. This new product is not only a welcome addition, it is going to replace some old standbys in my shop.
I was truly amazed at how well the product sprays on, penetrates the wood and leaves a very even coating. The can says that you can spray the stain on and leave it or you can wipe some of it off to allow the wood grain to show through. We tried both methods and both worked, but being woodworkers at heart, the wipe off method colored the wood nicely and still left the grain showing through. The other bonus is that it dries very quickly which is handy if you are going to put another clear coat on top.
Click the “Read More” button for more information (and check out their contest too) …
For many woodworkers today, scapers are a bit of a mystery. Many of us have heard other woodworkers extoling the virtures of scrapers and how wonderful they are. Well, we decided that it was high time to spend some time on scrapers and explain how and where to use them ... and most of all how to keep them sharp. I can tell you the absolute most useless tool you will ever have in your workshop is a dull scaper. On the flip ... a sharp scraper is irreplaceable.
Before sandpaper became popular, scapers were the item that woodworkers used to put a fine finish on their woodworking projects. In fact, scrapers were so useful and popular that there were people who circulated the woodworking shops with the sole purpose of sharpening scrapers for woodworkers. Because of the sound they made when sharpening scrapers they were called "clickers".
As it turns out, scapers are a VERY useful tool in finishing wood, and in many cases, especially with highly figured woods, particularly those with open grain, sandpaper can actually supress that three dimensional aspect of highly figured wood ... but scrapers can restore the look.
Click the Read More button to see more about scrapers.
My wife inherited
an old cedar chest from her favorite aunt. It is a beautiful piece of
furniture that is estimated to be over 60 years old, and all hand
crafted. The only problem with the cedar chest is that it no longer has
that wonderful aromatic smell. I looked high and low for products that
would some how rejuvenate the wood and bring it back to it’ former
aroma. I even tried a bit of cedar extra oil on a small part, but not
only did it not work, the small amount of good it did only lasted a few
days.
We are in an age when coloring woods simply means using one of the fine staining products that are readily available. Most of these come with instructions on usage and safety. But there is another way to color wood, one that mother nature uses, oxidization. Mother nature does it naturally with oxygen, but we don't have decades to wait, so we can speed up the process with ammonia. The benefit of fuming wood is that the coloring penetrates the wood up to an eighth of an inch deep for a rich permanent coloration. The disadvantage is that different hues and tones are difficult to control because of differing temperatures, wood types and length of fuming time.
Just bagged a bargain in unfinished furniture? Why not try staining it yourself? Finishing wood is satisfying and simple if you follow some basic guidelines.
"Nothing enhances the natural beauty of solid hardwood more than a good finish, and you don't have to be an expert woodworker to learn the basics," says Susan Regan, executive vice president of the Hardwood Information Center at www.hardwoodinfo.com. "Just remember that the first step is the most crucial. For the best results, take time to sand and prepare the wood very well."
Use this chart to compare finishes based on their appearance, durability and application. Items marked with a star indicate our most frequently recommended products. In our experience, these products are among the easiest to use, and give consistently good results.
Getting good results can sometimes require the use of special "tools" and this is one that can make your life, oh so much easier !!
Nordy Rockler founded Rockler Woodworking and Hardware in 1954. Over the last half century, Nordy has spent thousands of hours in the workshop, building projects and perfecting his finishing techniques. He's regarded as a finishing expert, and has developed a number of Rockler exclusive finishes. We recently met with Nordy to discuss the art of finishing and some of his favorite products.
Belt sanders are not considered to be "instruments of fine woodworking" ... but maybe this is a mistake. There are plenty of times that an aggressive tool is required to make light work of otherwise tedious jobs. I discovered the real trick to using any tool, particularly a belt sander is to KNOW THE TOOL. When you realize this, you begin to understand it's capabilities, limits and drawbacks.
I am one of those people who hate to admit that they don't know how to do something as simple as purchase a paintbrush. I can't tell you how many paint brushes I have purchased over the past 30 years. That is because when I buy paintbrushes, I either never seem to get around to cleaning them properly, in which case after about 2 weeks the bristles have about the same hardness as my ballpeen hammer or, they look so terrible when I am finished with them I just throw them out, which us not usually to hard to do as I didn't pay that much for them in the first place. Then I began to realize that the crappy brushes I was buying were not helping me in getting a nice finish on my woodworking projects.
Woodwork Topics 
"
WOW … That's the best word I can use to describe the new spray-on stain from Krylon. When I first heard of this product I was a bit skeptical, after all how could someone actually put a stain in a spray can that wouldn't clog up the nozzle. Well, someone at Krylon figured out how to do it, and it works like a charm!
My wife inherited
an old cedar chest from her favorite aunt. It is a beautiful piece of
furniture that is estimated to be over 60 years old, and all hand
crafted. The only problem with the cedar chest is that it no longer has
that wonderful aromatic smell. I looked high and low for products that
would some how rejuvenate the wood and bring it back to it’ former
aroma. I even tried a bit of cedar extra oil on a small part, but not
only did it not work, the small amount of good it did only lasted a few
days.
I am one of those people who hate to admit that they don't know how to do something as simple as purchase a paintbrush. I can't tell you how many paint brushes I have purchased over the past 30 years. That is because when I buy paintbrushes, I either never seem to get around to cleaning them properly, in which case after about 2 weeks the bristles have about the same hardness as my ballpeen hammer or, they look so terrible when I am finished with them I just throw them out, which us not usually to hard to do as I didn't pay that much for them in the first place. Then I began to realize that the crappy brushes I was buying were not helping me in getting a nice finish on my woodworking projects.