finishing jarrah chessbox?

I am nearly finished a chess box that i am making and i am unsure about what to finish it with.
It is a chessboard with a box and drawer underneath to hold the pieces. i made the chessboard out of jarrah and kauri pine. The box part is mostly made of jarrah.

it is my year 12 project and i have been working all year on it so i want to give it a really nice finish!
I don't know much about finishes but im looking for a satin finish, not glossy!
i was thinking maybe tung oil?
i want something that will bring out the beautiful red colour of the jarrah and the gold of the kauri.

does anyone have any ideas about what i could use?
It would be much appreciated!
(I will try to get some pictures of it in the next couple of days to post)

thanks.
:)

Tung oil would be good I think but better to takeadvise from more expereinced people here than me..

Looking forward to seeing pics of it and welcome to the forum
Albert

Art, that sounds like a beautiful piece of woodwork, worthy of a great finish. We'd all like to see pics!

Finishing can be tricky. There are lots (and lots) of different options. There is a book called "A Polishers Handbook" written by Neil Ellis and published by the host of this website. It explains many of the different finishing methods. Worth looking at.

I've never used it, but it sounds like Shellac or French Polishing might be a good way to go for this smaller item. I do most of my work in Jarrah and have found the pure oils (Tung Oil, Organoils) do not give a very good finish. They are quite flat, don't really enhance the wood grain and require a huge amount work to go beyond the flat finish. To get the satin finish you're looking for and to bring out the beautiful grain in Jarrah, I think you need to go to the Oil / Polyurethane mixes (Danish Oil, Feast Watson Floorseal, etc). Read the instructions re application as they require mutliple coats and fine sanding between coats.

My preferred finish on Jarrah is sprayed on satin (40 % gloss) lacquer. However, that introduces all sorts of other issues like having spray equipment and learning to spray properly, etc. So my guess is you'd be better off heading in the direction of French Polish or an Oil/Poly mix - and hand finishing.

Good luck with it.

Richard

Quote:

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Originally Posted by art vanderlay

I don't know much about finishes but im looking for a satin finish, not glossy!
i was thinking maybe tung oil?
i want something that will bring out the beautiful red colour of the jarrah and the gold of the kauri.

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I bulit one similar to what you describe out of scrap RedGum & Pine last year for my father. I'm still proud of it, as is the Ol' Man. :)

Finished with tung oil, only two coats to build up the colour, given a fortnight to cure then a final light sand with 1200 wet&dry to knock off the glossy "highlights." Several coats of Gillie Stephensons carnauba wax later, I had exactly the look I was after; a satin sheen that looked as though it had some respectable age.

It may seem odd waxing over tung, but it has seen a few games and the finish is holding up well. When it does show signs of wear, I'll simply rewax. Maybe with a softer beeswax combo this time though. ;) I'll see about posting some photos.

BTW, the wax was applied the old-fashioned way. A rag and one helluva lot of elbow-grease. Hard work with carnauba, but much more durable than the normal beeswax/carnauba mix.

thanks for the help people. i just tried to post some pictures but it said they were too big. does that mean i should take it with a lower quality setting ?
thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by art vanderlay

thanks for the help people. i just tried to post some pictures but it said they were too big. does that mean i should take it with a lower quality setting ?
thanks

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Yes.
If your camera has a low-res 640x480 mode use that. Picture will be fine for onscreen display and small enough (under 100k) for the guys on dial-up to view.

Cheers

Ian

Hi, Art,The Barwon Valley Woodwrights are holding their annual exhibition and the Student woodworking competition sponsered by Faggs Mitre 10 on Oct 29 and 30th of October at the State Government Offices Little Malop St Geelong.
You would be most welcome to exhibit your work and be eligible for prizes and gifts which total $2000 for all the classes.
If you require an entry form please phone Laury on 0408551842,or send me a PM.
nine fingers.

Art
you have plenty of options and they will all work well if you take your time.

I love the finish you get with jarrah.

I use either Rustins Danish oil or Livos- Kunos Oil (natural based oil finish).
Give it 3 or 4 coats. Wipe or brush it on generously. Leave it up to 15 minutes to soak in - but don't let it get tacky.
Wipe off the excess with a soft cloth them buff it up.

You can use 0000 steel wool or fine wet and dry sandpaper to get a fine finish but I don't find it necesary.

Sometimes I add one third polyurethane to the oil. This tends to keep the finish looking spot on for longer.

If you think the finish needs a lift of it is about to be "judged", you can give it a lite re-oil and polish it up with a soft cotton cloth.

The finish wears well and is easy to clean.

All the best.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by art vanderlay

thanks for the help people. i just tried to post some pictures but it said they were too big. does that mean i should take it with a lower quality setting ?
thanks

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Try using a smaller camera :D

here are some pictures of it that i took.
what do you think?
does this change anyone's mind about finishes?
thanks

VERY NICE Art. Well done. Looks beautiful and the wood will come up a real treat. I think Scally is on the money with his finishing advice. I've also added a little (1/4 to a third) polyurethane to Danish and it really enhances the jarrah.

post some pics when it's finished.

Richard

Art


Well done, thats a beatiful piece. What amazes me is the minute attention to detail some of you guys can command. Doing the squares would have me certified.

Finish it with whatever, olive oil, canola, midnight oil, who cares, you're still up for a high 90's score.

'Tis certainly something to be proud of, Art.

An oil finish will enhance the colours and then it should look glorious. :D BTW, Scally and my own finishes are not dissimilar(sp?); Danish is basically a tung oil with additives that set quicker. IMHO Rustins' is top rank there.

Either way, an oil finish would be a good start and you can later decide for yourself whether you're happy with it as a final result. It didn't give me the exact finish I was after, hence the coats of carnauba to both soften it down and add an easily maintained finish.

Furniture that is regularly waxed & polished develops a lovely "internal glow" over time that makes me all warm'n'fuzzy inside to look at. ;) Pity it's a method that has fallen out of favour but I can easily undertand why...

As stated previously by several people, I would recommend using an oil finish as it is by far the easiest to apply and as long as instructions are followed, it gives a superb finish. I have used Livos "Ardvos" oil on several projects and it really is a glorious finish. Livos in the company (German) that makes the range of wood oils, Livos is one type and Kunos another. I know that many of this country's best professional makers use Livos extensively. In WA, it is available through the Planet Ark shop, you should do an internet search for suppliers in your own area. As I said, it is very easy to apply, and all you need is the oil, a willinness to read and follow the instructions, and plenty of elbow grease. Your work, incidently, is beautiful, congratulations!

I used a tung/poly mix and I thinik that might give a nice finish for the box. I used intergrain tung oil mix from bunnings and I am pretty happy with the finish.

You can see the finish here.

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...=hallway+table

Good luck

Trav

thanks for all the help.
I'm probably going to use danish oil or tung oil.

what are the differences between the two?
Is danish oil glossy, because I'm only looking for a slight satin finish.

Can anyone recommend any good brands that are available from places like mitre 10, bunnings etc

thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by art vanderlay

I'm probably going to use danish oil or tung oil.

what are the differences between the two?
Is danish oil glossy, because I'm only looking for a slight satin finish.

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Danish oil is based on tung. It has a few extras (mainly poly) for increased hardness and quicker curing. Cosmetic diferences are minimal.

Both will give a glossy finish if enough layers are applied, the more coats the glossier and the more the colours are richened. However a satin finish can be achieved by applying only a few very light coats (rubbing back with 0000 steel wool or very fine W&D) until even colouration's achieved. The trick is to know when to stop applying more coats. ;)

I like tung for satined finishes because it takes longer to cure and so (in theory, anyway) has more penetration time on the first application, helping to increase the durability of the finished item. Apart from that, I see no other advantages & danish is generally "quicker" to work with.

It's partly because of the thinness of the finished coats and partly to take off any glossy highlights that I waxed with carnauba.

The only two "hardware" brands I've used are Wattyls &.... Integrain (?? I think), which are both danish's. Even the stuff sold as a tung is really more of a danish, having similar additives. [shrug] Pure tung is something you really have to search for and rarely found on the shelf in mainstream suppliers.