Bob Janka
05-20-2003, 1:03 PM
Folks,
Has anyone used an oil finish for small spindle turnings like pens? I visited a friend over the weekend whose house has a lot of quarter-sawn oak trim and furniture (Prairie House and/or Mission style). He complained that a custom-made railing covered in 4-5 coats of varnish was "too slick" for his preference.
I am making an oak fountain pen for him, but would like to make the finish more tactile than the super-smooth polish I usually use. I sand using grits 180, 240, 320, 400, 600 & 800. Sometimes I switch over to Micro-Mesh and go up those 9 grits. I then finish with 3+ coats of Hut's Crystal Coat friction polish (shellac & carnauba wax). For Bill's pen, I'm thinking about stopping at 400 grit and using an oil-based finish.
Does anyone have any recommendations on finishing such a pen? I'd like him to feel the grain, yet I don't want to pay his medical bills if he scratches his hands or worse yet gets a splinter. :)
Thanks in advance for your advice!
Cheers,
Bob Janka
P.S. Would cutting the oak blank on a diagonal improve the chances for quarter-sawn ray flecks?
Has anyone used an oil finish for small spindle turnings like pens? I visited a friend over the weekend whose house has a lot of quarter-sawn oak trim and furniture (Prairie House and/or Mission style). He complained that a custom-made railing covered in 4-5 coats of varnish was "too slick" for his preference.
I am making an oak fountain pen for him, but would like to make the finish more tactile than the super-smooth polish I usually use. I sand using grits 180, 240, 320, 400, 600 & 800. Sometimes I switch over to Micro-Mesh and go up those 9 grits. I then finish with 3+ coats of Hut's Crystal Coat friction polish (shellac & carnauba wax). For Bill's pen, I'm thinking about stopping at 400 grit and using an oil-based finish.
Does anyone have any recommendations on finishing such a pen? I'd like him to feel the grain, yet I don't want to pay his medical bills if he scratches his hands or worse yet gets a splinter. :)
Thanks in advance for your advice!
Cheers,
Bob Janka
P.S. Would cutting the oak blank on a diagonal improve the chances for quarter-sawn ray flecks?