Cabinet complete...do not have a clue how to finish. Help?

I recently got to the sanding stage of an oak fly-rod cabinet I was building. It actually turned out nice enough that I got the approval from the wife for final resting place inside the house as oppossed to the garage.

With that said, i would like to put a nice finish on it. The cabinet case is made of oak ply and the rest (drawers, face frame, doors are all solid oak). I want to have close to natural appearance, but look "finished".

1- What grit sandpaper should I use as the last pass?

2- I haven't ANY experience finishing (what to use- stain varish poly-whatever)

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Sparty, Welcome to the BB.

Firstly I am not an expert in finishing but I can offer some advice due to my experiences in stuffing up good furniture.

1. Don't rush into it. Do some research (you already are;) ) and have a search through both the "finishing" forum here and the "photos/pics" forum. Most of the posts will give some details of the finish applied and there is some greast stuff produced.

2. Whilst having applied a number of different finishes to all sorts of jobs over the years I really improved my results with a few books. One of the best know (downunder) is "A Polishers Handbook" by the owner of this forum and there should be a link somewhere to "Ubeaut" for further info. (That orta be worth a cap:rolleyes: ). However there is lots of other books available, why not try a library.

3. I like to dabble in oil finishes because of the natural/warm look and feel but they often require lots of work. Personally I do not like Poly finishes on Heirloom furniture as it looks out of place but then again it does have its place...so to speak.

Quote:

---

I want to have close to natural appearance, but look "finished".

---

Sounds like a shellac finish to me.

4. Sanding carefully through the grits up to 1200 is the way to go, and many even go higher.

5. Use good quality sandpaper.

6. Raise the grain by wetting down and then sanding the raised "fur" off.

7. Don't rush it.

Thats about all I can help you with. Again welcome to the forum.

Cheers

http://www.ubeaut.com.au/book.html :)

What do you mean by 'oak' - generic Oz hardwood veneer, or the 'real thing' (Quercus)? Finishing options will differ.

(Ah, just noticed you're from Ohio ... so, English Oak? Consider an oil finish burnished with an ROS)

Sparty is a sepo, it will probably be one of the real oaks. They gro the stuff over there.
Neails book is great & you should buy one, I'm sure he will mail order one to the states. but you may find one of the fine woodworking books easier to get your hands on.
You do subscribe to fine wood working?

How far you sand & when will depend on what type of finish you intend to use.

cheers