whisky tumbler

[Keithie]

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!)

 

[Woodmonkey]

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

 

[CHJ]

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.

 

[Keithie]

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

 

[NazNomad]

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

 

[CHJ]

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.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

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 !

 

[NazNomad]

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

What about Devil's Cut? ccasion5:

 

[Keithie]

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.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

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

Things could be so much worse ...

 

[Keithie]

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 !)

 

[Woodmonkey]

Remember, photos needed or it didn't happen!

 

[Keithie]

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

 

[Woodmonkey]

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

 

[Keithie]

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!

 

[duncanh]

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

 

[Keithie]

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

 

[duncanh]

Looks like you've worked it out!

 

[Keithie]

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

 

[Keithie]

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