Quebracho table finish

[Juan Ignacio Segovia]

Hi guys, I'm from Argentina, and I'm planning on doing a couple of tables to gift to my relatives, and I really want a finish that feels silky smooth and will last for a long time, and look great at the same time, I want them to look like carpenters Greg Klassen and Taylor Donsker make them look (pictures bellow). I read a couple of threads about finishing, but there are so many ways, methods, products and kind of finishes that I couldn't choose which would fit better, and would look like the ones of the pictures (bellow) made by the 2 carpenters I mentioned above. Also, I read a lot of good comments about Sam Mallows and Waterlox, but here in Argentina we don't have those kind of products, and they are really, really hard to import them from outside right now with our economic crisis, customs are almost completely shut down, so if you will recommend a blend for example, mentioning the product instead of a brand will be best, I'll try to get the best brand/quality of that product, for example.. Polyester varnish or BLO I can get. I saw a video from Taylor Donsker, showing how he finishes a table with Maloof poly/oil, but he didn't explained much the procedure and I couldn't quite understand it, he puts a first coat of oil, then a couple of minutes later sand it (I don't know what grain he uses for example, I would love to know, maybe 320??, and if that method is called water-sanding, I read is the best, but I didn't saw him soak the sand paper in water, and he used a orbital hand sander), then another coat, and so on, but I don't know if he waited a full day from coat to coat, or he just made the total finish in a couple of minutes, (here I read it takes a couple of hours to get dry and settled the oil/varnish, and you have to wait for the next day to put on another layer). So if you guys could tell me step by step how you finish the wood to make it look beautiful and silky smooth, like the ones in the picture, I would pretty much appreciate it, I already know how to prepare the table for the finish, going from 80 to 320 grain and so on, but the finish part... looks pretty complicated, by the way, i don't want to Dye the table, i want It's natural color. My first table will be made out of Quebracho, a very hard and solid red wood, but I'm planning on using other kinds of wood like maple or walnut for the next ones. THANKS in advanced for any help, and sorry for my poor English. Have a nice day, :) nacho




http://gregklassen.bigcartel.com/product/longhorn-table

http://gregklassen.bigcartel.com/product/madrone-river-table (in the zoom pictures, everything looks so... soft(?), love it)

http://gregklassen.bigcartel.com/product/elm-river-dining-table

http://static.squarespace.com/static/51e6e877e4b062dafa712b51/542bb533e4b0bbe9ba2b1322/542bb617e4b0149dd1f56f4f/1412150832608/DSC_9913.jpg?format=300w

http://static.squarespace.com/static/51e6e877e4b062dafa712b51/542bb533e4b0bbe9ba2b1322/542bb618e4b09148cad579c6/1412150831254/DSC_0157.jpg?format=300w

http://static.squarespace.com/static/51e6e877e4b062dafa712b51/542bb533e4b0bbe9ba2b1322/542bb618e4b09148cad579c6/1412150831254/DSC_0157.jpg?format=300w

http://static.squarespace.com/static/51e6e877e4b062dafa712b51/542bb533e4b0bbe9ba2b1322/544c4961e4b0b1199cf5725d/1414285666830/Wu5.jpg?format=750w

http://static.squarespace.com/static/51e6e877e4b062dafa712b51/542bcb94e4b0852297eb57ae/542bcc84e4b059102d76101b/1412156548933/9.jpg?format=750w

[Dan Hahr]

I would use the best oilbased varnish you can get and mix it with boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits (40%/40%/20%), more or less mineral spirits depending on the thickness. I would wipe it on, and polish it off, once a day for several days until I was happy with the finish. You can wet sand it with the finish also, but sometimes it muddies up the look slightly. It is not a very tough finish, but good enough for lightly handled furniture.

Good luck, Dan