Round Table question - An Update.

[Zeddedhed]

Thanks for the comments guys - with the talent present on these forums praise given on here is very welcomed. Customers are often the easiest people to please (or at least some of mine are!!) but praise from fellow makers is praise indeed - it means a lot.

The brief from the customer regards design was 'modern art-deco'. I feel that the table meets the brief but I'm never exactly sure. Sometimes if you live with a piece for so long you can end up blinkered to it's faults and failings.

This piece in particular needed lots of mock ups (Sketchup can only tell you so much) to get it right. Firstly from the point of view of functionality and stability. Then it was all about proportions and finally the details. There was going to be an inlaid Maple 'ring' on the table top about 30mm in from the edge and about 5mm wide, but for some reason it didn't work. It simply looked all wrong.

Thanks for the comments on Osmo Custard. I'm starting to think that Osmo Oils, especially Polyx and it's variants and Osmo Top are the finishing panacea that I've been looking for. With regard to nothing sticking to it I'm going to try some experiments with Microcrystalline wax as Phil.p suggested. Presumably it it works it would allow me to get a higher sheen if needed on occasion.

Out of interest what exactly is a wiping varnish? I've heard this term thrown around so many times with some truly bizarre recipes so it be good to hear from one who knows and uses it

 

[custard]

Thanks for the comments on Osmo Custard. I'm starting to think that Osmo Oils, especially Polyx and it's variants and Osmo Top are the finishing panacea that I've been looking for. With regard to nothing sticking to it I'm going to try some experiments with Microcrystalline wax as Phil.p suggested. Presumably it it works it would allow me to get a higher sheen if needed on occasion.

Out of interest what exactly is a wiping varnish? I've heard this term thrown around so many times with some truly bizarre recipes so it be good to hear from one who knows and uses it

My bad, microcrystaline will adhere to Polyx, I've used it to add gloss to Matt Polyx when the client wanted something "shinier", but it adds nothing in terms of scratch resistance.

Wiping varnish is simply a varnish that's thinned sufficiently that it can be applied with a rag instead of a brush. There's a million different recipes but they're basically pretty similar, I use equal quantities of Epifanes spar varnish, Epifanes thinners, and pure Tung oil (this is probably the most expensive wiping varnish known to man as it works out about £25 a litre, but I'm reassured that Epifanes stuffs their varnishes with UV inhibitors, so if it's going on Walnut that will live in front of a south facing window then I've done all I can to at least slow the fading of the timber). It delivers a very thin but tough coating, it takes five or six applications but each coat is fast and de-nibbing is easy, you also get a very nice "hand rubbed" look which is way classier than something like a two pack varnish that's a yellowish treacle and makes all furniture look like a cheap table in a Wetherspoons.

 

[AJB Temple]

Nice work. And I found the stuff on finishes very useful.

 

[Zeddedhed]

I've had a quick look at the Epifanes stuff.

This looks like the varnish to go for

As for the thinners, they seem to have several. The first one listed states that it's pure white spirit. Isn't this just what decorators use to make a mess of customers sinks?

 

[custard]

I've used the Epifanes Rubbed Varnish and very nice it is too, but I don't believe it has the same level of UV inhibitors as their full gloss spar varnishes. So if fade resistance is what you're trying to achieve (and for woods like Walnut that's very important, especially if you're making an extending table where the leaf won't get any sun, or where the client places a vase on a side table in front of a window...and then moans about the dark circle underneath the vase) I use Epifanes spar, but adding Tung Oil and thinners (all in equal quantities) cuts the gloss back to a semi gloss, and finishing with a pad of wire wool takes that back to a nice hand rubbed satin look. I use Epifanes thinners because that's the one component that's not wildly expensive, plus I live in a sailing town so there's plenty of ships chandlers who discount their Epifanes stock at the end of the sailing season!

Incidentally, you can get an Epifanes flattener to dull back the gloss even more, but I'm personally happy with the hand rubbed satin look, if I want matt I go for Polyx. These two finishes, along with a 1/2 lb cut of blonde shellac for the inside of cabinets and drawers, covers the great majority of my finishing requirements. Occasionally, when I want to preserve the pale whiteness of something like Arctic Sycamore, I'll use blonde shellac or a water based pu varnish, but that's about it. It's hard enough making a living as a furniture maker without tying yourself in knots trying loads of different finishes and carrying a huge inflammable inventory!