Design - Finish Advice needed

[Kathy Marshall]

I was really hoping to actually wait until this piece was finished before posting, but I'd like some input/suggestions on my thoughts for completing it.

So here's the story, I am turning this piece for our club's President's Challenge for our April meeting. The challenge for April is "attention getters" and I decided to try a gavel.

The head is turned out of pistachio, 4 7/8" long, 2" at the ends and wider in the center. So far it's just got a coat of BLO. So the 1st question is, what would be the best finish for a gavel? WOP, lacquer or shellac are what I have on hand.

I'm planning on turning the handle out of Ash and then dyeing it. My plan before I turned the head was to dye it black, but this piece of pistachio is lighter than the last piece and doesn't have the dark streaks that I thought the black would hi-light, so I'm considering going with a dark green (the dark streaks at the edge of the sapwood are dark green) and then sanding back a bit. I've not really done any dyeing except for a finial and pedestal and I thought this might be a good project to try it out. Also thinking about doing the base out of ash and go with the same dye treatment.

Thoughts? Suggestions? about the type of wood or dye choices?

I probably should have done a seach on gavels and tried to find some typical dimensions, I'm wondering if I made the head a little too big? The length doesn't seem too bad, but I wonder if I should have gone a little narrower?
For the handle, I'm thinking about 8-9" long, does that sound about right?

Thanks for any comments and/or input!

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[John Keeton]

Kathy, I suspect you will get varied responses on this, as everyone will have a little different (perhaps a lot different) idea of what you should do. So, I will start the game!

I have seen a few gavels in my time - most will have a waist that is slightly more narrow than the rounded (larger bead) ends. I think that would add some balance to the overall piece. On color, for me, it really needs to be homogenous for this type of turning, so I would strive for a match to the brown tone of the heartwood in the pistacio - don't know if you have a piece from which you could get all heartwood, or even all sapwood, but that would be my choice.

Any of the three finishes will work, but with the beading, I suspect that WOP will produce a better overall finish. It may be difficult to keep the lacquer or shellac even in the beaded areas.

As far as dye and "sanding back" you must be careful with that. The dyed wood may show sanding marks unless you sand to 400 or better - and, sometimes, even then. Sanding back dyed work takes a little practice and the results can be unpredictable. The soft areas of the wood will sand back quicker, and the hard areas will not soak the dye up as much. A little testing would be wise. Also, keep in mind that the underlying color of the wood will effect the ultimate color. For instance, putting blue dye on a yellowish wood can produce a green color, etc.

[Kathy Marshall]

Kathy, I suspect you will get varied responses on this, as everyone will have a little different (perhaps a lot different) idea of what you should do. So, I will start the game!

I have seen a few gavels in my time - most will have a waist that is slightly more narrow than the rounded (larger bead) ends. I think that would add some balance to the overall piece. On color, for me, it really needs to be homogenous for this type of turning, so I would strive for a match to the brown tone of the heartwood in the pistacio - don't know if you have a piece from which you could get all heartwood, or even all sapwood, but that would be my choice.

Any of the three finishes will work, but with the beading, I suspect that WOP will produce a better overall finish. It may be difficult to keep the lacquer or shellac even in the beaded areas.

As far as dye and "sanding back" you must be careful with that. The dyed wood may show sanding marks unless you sand to 400 or better - and, sometimes, even then. Sanding back dyed work takes a little practice and the results can be unpredictable. The soft areas of the wood will sand back quicker, and the hard areas will not soak the dye up as much. A little testing would be wise. Also, keep in mind that the underlying color of the wood will effect the ultimate color. For instance, putting blue dye on a yellowish wood can produce a green color, etc.

Thanks John! That would explain why it looked a little fat to me (needed a narrower waist). So I think this now becomes the experimental piece and I can play around with it. As far as the dye, I'll play around with that as well.

[Jason Clark2]

Kathy, I found this link last night in another SMC thread while researching gavel dimensions for one of my entries for the challenge:
http://www.turnedtreasures.com/pdf_pages/gavel_turning_pdf.pdf

Jason

[Mark Hubl]

That looks good so far, and should garner some attention. I would make the handle and sound block out of the same wood, trying to get a similar result with light and dark features. That wood already has so much going on I would just use a clear finish. As John said, WOP will probably be the best option. Can't wait to see how you finish it up.

[Don Alexander]

i know absolutely nothing about gavels, however it would be a crying shame to cover up or mute that gorgeous wood IMO

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jason provided an excellent link - so be sure to check it out. Sure like the wood and hope you decide to use a clear finish! Looking forward to seeing this once completed!

[Jeff Myroup]

Great looking piece of wood. I would go clear. I like lacquer, but that is just me. WOP would work well too. Nice job. Can't wait to see the final piece

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks everyone!


Kathy, I found this link last night in another SMC thread while researching gavel dimensions for one of my entries for the challenge:
http://www.turnedtreasures.com/pdf_pages/gavel_turning_pdf.pdf

Jason

Thank Jason! That's a great link!

[Cathy Schaewe]

I suppose I should have some sort of comment here .... ;):D:rolleyes:

But I really don't have anything much to add!
My gavels aren't nearly as nice as yours will be, I can tell already. The ones I've been given are pretty bland, and I never use them anyway. I personally wouldn't use any dye, with that beautiful wood ...

[John Keeton]

Cathy, they don't "issue" you any nice gavels 'cause you have a reputation for throwing them at the lawyers!!!!

[Cathy Schaewe]

Cathy, they don't "issue" you any nice gavels 'cause you have a reputation for throwing them at the lawyers!!!!
Only when they deserve it, or they can't turn a decent HF ... :D
so I'd never throw one at you! ;):rolleyes:

[John Keeton]

I will admit that I have never had a gavel thrown at me, but I have been threatened with jail a few times!:o

[David E Keller]

I think it's beautiful! If I were going to put a handle on that piece, I think a mostly sapwood piece from the same wood would be fantastic. +1 on the clear finish... That wood is just too pretty for anything else. FWIW, the little bit of Chinese pistache that I've turned has kept it's color very nicely.

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks everyone, great suggestions and helpful info!


I think it's beautiful! If I were going to put a handle on that piece, I think a mostly sapwood piece from the same wood would be fantastic. +1 on the clear finish... That wood is just too pretty for anything else. FWIW, the little bit of Chinese pistache that I've turned has kept it's color very nicely.

Turned the handle tonight with mostly heartwood and just enough sapwood where the tenon is to make it interesting. Tomorrow I'll drill the hole to attach the handle and try and get base or striker, or whatever its called, turned. I'll wait until it's finished to post more pics.

Any ideas for the base? Just a round plate a little bigger in diameter than the head and maybe 1" thick?

[Cathy Schaewe]

I would make the base slightly concave on the top, myself, maybe with a bead or something around the top edge. You might want to make it so you can balance the head on the base (with the handle on the counter) as a display. Just a thought.