Finishing Sassafras

[jeffrey bailey]

Any ideas as to what to use to finish sassafras with? I was thinking of using oil. If you think oil is good, what kind of oil should I use? Thanks for any feedback.

[jeffrey bailey]

I should have been more specific. I am making cabinets for my shop and am facing the cases with sassafras. I would like to hear what you would finish them with.

[Stephen Cherry]

Hi Jeffrey-- Maybe brush on lacquer? Oil is generally not a very strong finish. Or you may want to consider waterlox, which if I'm not mistaken is derived from tung oil.

[Stephen Cherry]

Or, polyurethane?

[jeffrey bailey]

Thanks Stephen. Just got started in woodworking this year and am muddling through a lot of it.

[Gary Radice]

I made a bed headboard of sassafras. I used a low sheen oil finish. Since it has a rather open and coarse grain, I think that looks better than a built up finish. Oil is also easy to repair. But try a couple of different finishes on some scrap and see what you like. Sassafras is fun to work with because it smells so good (to me) and is a little unusual. Gives you a chance to ask visitors to guess what wood it is!

[jeffrey bailey]

I was given quite a bit of it in exchange for making a couple of tables. I love the smell of my shop after working with it. It is nice looking too. I went with the polyurethane BTW. I figured if I went with oil, it would collect dust easier.