# whisky tumbler



## Keithie (16 Jan 2017)

Made my first oak whisky tumbler today (3"x2.5" external, tapered)..couple of problems :

1. the oak I had looks suspiciously like elm ...turned beautifully tho, with wafer thin huge ribbons 
2. the tumbler drank the whisky faster than I did!

I'd only sanded to 150 on the inside and 400 on the outside with a 3mm edge wall and 10mm base.
Within less than a minute the whisky was starting to leak out through the grain at the base. Some hints of damp on the side walls too.

So my question is what might be the best finish for the exterior that is clear, odourless, matt and wont et alcohol through? I was thinking beeswax but thoughtI'd ask before trying.

Also, assuming it is elm rather than oak, isit safe to drink from or do I need a foodsafe type finish on the inside?

cheers
Keith

(pic of tumbler will be in blog once its dried out!)


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## Woodmonkey (16 Jan 2017)

Wood is a less than ideal material for a whiskey glass, but you could try rustins plasticoat


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## CHJ (16 Jan 2017)

Sounds like you have one of the Red Oak species, they are naturally like colanders as far as porosity.


The only coatings that I can think off that would be impervious are:-

If you want traditional... Bees wax
(applied in molten state so that it penetrates the wood, use hair dryer or paint stripper then friction polish wax to remove surplus)

If you want gloss and modern coating then Rustins plastic coating or several coats of chestnut Melamine enhanced lacquer.


See here for Paul Hannaby's method.


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## Keithie (16 Jan 2017)

Thanks both. The idea for using oak was that, I think, whisky is matured inoak casks. Maybe the cooperage process is a bit different inside than just rubbing with sandpaper!

I couldnt get the Paul Hannaby method link to work but will look it up when i get a chance tomorrow. 
I've got the little 1oz beeswax bar sowill trying the hot air gun on them and try to work into the exterior.

cheers
Keith


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## NazNomad (16 Jan 2017)

Not sure how a cooper finishes the inside of a barrel, but if it's any consolation, all barrels leak when you initially fill them. You'd usually 'cure' a barrel for a few days by filling it with water until it's expanded enough to stop leaking ... THEN put your precious stuff inside. :-D


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## CHJ (16 Jan 2017)

Keithie":10vyey2d said:


> Thanks both. The idea for using oak was that, I think, whisky is matured inoak casks. Maybe the cooperage process is a bit different inside than just rubbing with sandpaper!


You need to coat the interior of your vessel to stop the liquid penetrating the wood.
Oak barrel staves are formed Long grain using White Oak which is naturally closed pored & they do not expose any open end grain pores to the contents.


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## Sheffield Tony (17 Jan 2017)

The goblets I use at Bodgers gatherings have been sealed with beeswax just as described above. I can confirm that they have been well tested with whisky. And mead. And red wine, beer, and more dodgy distillates than I can go in to here !


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## NazNomad (17 Jan 2017)

CHJ":1xygthjs said:


> You need to coat the interior of your vessel to stop the liquid penetrating the wood.



What about Devil's Cut? ccasion5:


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## Keithie (17 Jan 2017)

Thanks all. I'll try water soaking the next one I think. My first one now smells very nicely of Lagavulin...so I'll try the wax approach on the outside ...and if that fails then also on the inside. I'm not so keen on using the osmo polyx clear matt I've got but might even resort to that if needs be..and will get hold of some rustins plastic as it sound like I'm bound yo have some uses for it ...even if not with this tumbler.


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## Sheffield Tony (17 Jan 2017)

Keithie":2fmulmjd said:


> My first one now smells very nicely of Lagavulin...



Things could be so much worse ...


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## Keithie (18 Jan 2017)

in conclusion....buffing with beeswax on a mop...not much help... scraping shavings of beeswax bar onto the tumbler and very gently melting them into exterior (espec the base) with hot air gun at low setting from quite some distance seems to have worked well. No leakage today!
As ever, excellent advice, thanks!

(obviously will need to continue testimg thoroughly most evenings to check this solution is good for the long term !)


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## Woodmonkey (18 Jan 2017)

Remember, photos needed or it didn't happen!


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## Keithie (18 Jan 2017)

Very true Woodmonkey ...but I cant be doing with the whole silliness of scaling a 5meg pic down to 13kb or whatever is needed to post ...so I put the pics in my blog ...link below


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## Woodmonkey (18 Jan 2017)

Lots of free apps which will do it in seconds (assuming you have a smart phone)


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## Keithie (19 Jan 2017)

Blog updated to show pics of the 'wax melting in' process I used. 

It's probably fair to say that this may not be commercially viable as a process due to the time taken. Might just put Osmo or Rustins on the ones for friends/family ..lol. I'm def open to suggestions for a better way of melting wax in!


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## duncanh (19 Jan 2017)

Keithie":2udd61eh said:


> Very true Woodmonkey ...but I cant be doing with the whole silliness of scaling a 5meg pic down to 13kb or whatever is needed to post ...so I put the pics in my blog ...link below



It would appear as though your blog autamatically resizes images. All you need to do is then create a link to the blog photo, such as


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## Keithie (19 Jan 2017)

Thanks Duncan ... I think the finish is pretty much sorted on that piece 

seriously though ...I have no idea how you did that! not sure which I'm worse at ..computers, woodturning or finishing


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## duncanh (19 Jan 2017)

Looks like you've worked it out!


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## Keithie (27 Jan 2017)

well...turns out that beeswax in soluble ...after some considerable testing .. in whisky! who knew!

now dunking whisky tumbler in osmo polyx clear matt to see if that works better ... may even do a durability comparison test between osmo polyx, chestnut melamine, and rustins plastic ....I guess that might mean drinking a bit more whisky ...ah well...guess its important to test


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## Keithie (7 Feb 2017)

So I've now made a bunch of 'test' tumblers from cheap fir to try various finishes. I realise that the advice is to try melamine and rustins plastic and also that as whisky dissolves wax then wax products arent likely to work.

So I have a list of the finishes I'm going to use to test ..

1. sadolin clear polyurethane, 
2. mylands melamine lacquer,
3. chestnut acrylic lacquer
4. Rustins plastic, 
5. Sadolon clear exterior 
6. osmo polyx
7. liberon superior danish oil
8. 'treatex'
9. cold enamel kit (resin)
10. burning the inside with a blowtorch
11. Pure tung oil

My expected process is 
a) coat each as appropriate and leave for a week or so to cure
b) fill each with water and watch for a week... ditch any that fail
c) fill each that remain with white spirits and put in a shed for a few days till its all evaporated and ditch any that leaked
d) water test again to see if white spirits remove the waterproofing.

If anyone has any other suggestions for a non-wax internal and externa,l clear, alcohol proof finish for a small (3"x3") tumbler then I'd love to hear
cheers


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## woodpig (7 Feb 2017)

I'm not sure I would use any of the oils, it could taint the whisky. Similarly I wouldn't "test" your work with white spirit, I'd use the cheapest Vodka you can get.


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## CHJ (7 Feb 2017)

It's your prerogative to experiment and spend money on various products but personally I would not bother with anything other than Rustins Plastic coating.
There's years of experience on this forum and I've never seen anyone have acceptable long term results that they use on commissioned items with anything other than Rustins.

I know for instance that Pete ended up with it as his staple product having spent considerable time evaluating differing methods.
And he does Make rather a lot of them

If you search the forum for his posts you will turn up his method, I believe the activated product will last longer in a sealed jar than you would be lead to believe by the instructions.


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## Keithie (7 Feb 2017)

Thanks both.

Woodpig..I'll try some cheapo vodka on them, probably isa better idea than whitespirit..cant stand the stuff myself (vodka or white spirit!). I'm pretty sure you're right about the oil being a bad plan too, but I have it already and made too many

Chas.. thanks. I have a lot of respect for the experience of the folk on this forum ...I wouldnt bother asking if I thought I'd get numpty answers....and we all know that experience pretty much always beats theory/enthusiasm. I'm pretty clear that Rustins will be good enough ...I did a few searches already...but I also have secondary agenda of seeing how the various finishes I've got shiftcolour and texture on a pale-ish wood like the fir I've made from.

the firing of the wood idea came from a commercial seller..though I kinda suspect he mighta been pulling my chain, while the cold enamel (resin) thing is something suggested by the village pro woodworkers based on a product the pro designer silversmith (again in our village) makes. The extension, if it bonds to some woods well enough, being to consider complementary internal colouring.(hence me quizzing Dalboy on how he blackened the inside of the colourful 'lemon' ...knowing he also does resin work)

Having said all that I'm not likely to make more than 40-50 altogether for friends & family and wouldnt be lookingfor payment...just a creative way to pass time and not have to buy junk pressies when I can make them!

Thanks for the link to Pete's stuff ...pretty impressive! Funnily enough I used to do cab settings in silver pendants and bangles..turquoise very popular ...never occured to me to do them in wood! I even found a pic of one of your vaseswhich was lined with a drinking glass, nice vase and a nice solution for an interesting problem.


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## whiskywill (1 Mar 2017)

NazNomad":2mu7paao said:


> CHJ":2mu7paao said:
> 
> 
> > You need to coat the interior of your vessel to stop the liquid penetrating the wood.
> ...



Don't you mean the Angel's Share? :?


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