What finish for maple/walnut hand plane?

[Tom Jones III]

I built my first hand plane a short while ago and used it to flatten the top of my last project. I've used it enough now that I cut the shape yesterday and got it ready to apply a finish. It is a long #7 that I use for flattening table tops. I used the typical lamination method, the cheeks are walnut and the center is maple. I was going to put BLO on it, but I really don't like how it yellows the maple. What finish can I put on it that will not yellow the maple, but will still feel good in my hands?

[Jim Hinze]

Tom,

I've made several hand planes over the last 6 months or so... I only applied finish to one of them. I used Seal-a-Cell from general finishes. One very generous application.

Generally speaking, working planes do not need a finish, however since you have 2 species of wood, it's not a bad idea to apply some sort of finish to help stabilize the wood.

If your not happy with the yellowing effect of BLO (not sure what seal-a-cell does to maple), perhaps a watco or danish oil? Walnut oil?


I built my first hand plane a short while ago and used it to flatten the top of my last project. I've used it enough now that I cut the shape yesterday and got it ready to apply a finish. It is a long #7 that I use for flattening table tops. I used the typical lamination method, the cheeks are walnut and the center is maple. I was going to put BLO on it, but I really don't like how it yellows the maple. What finish can I put on it that will not yellow the maple, but will still feel good in my hands?

[Dan Racette]

We must see pictures! :)

[Tom Jones III]

I was hoping to wait on the pictures until after the finish was applied. However I'm still thinking about not applying a finish. I'll post pictures Tues. morning (that is as soon as I can do it)

It is hard for me to not put BLO on the walnut. Walnut just looks so good with BLO. Maybe I can put BLO on just the walnut and not on the maple??

[Tom LaRussa]

I built my first hand plane a short while ago and used it to flatten the top of my last project. I've used it enough now that I cut the shape yesterday and got it ready to apply a finish. It is a long #7 that I use for flattening table tops. I used the typical lamination method, the cheeks are walnut and the center is maple. I was going to put BLO on it, but I really don't like how it yellows the maple. What finish can I put on it that will not yellow the maple, but will still feel good in my hands?

Tom,

When I want to "pop the grain" on something but don't want that yellowing that BLO adds I use Lee Valley's Polymerized Tung Oil. It is expensive, but it takes very little of it for the kind of project you're talking about and it's fantastic stuff: it's an oil but it goes on like a varnish; dries very fast and almost completely clear.

Here is the description from the LV web site:


This is pure tung oil that has been given extra heat treatment to encourage polymerization and faster initial drying.

Because the treatment increases the body of the oil, this product contains 50% mineral spirits to dilute it to a workable consistency.

Polymerized tung oil provides a high-luster finish and is suitable for heavy-use items. It is an excellent choice when you want a simple finishing method that also gives you beauty and durability.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=20050&cat=1,190,42942

HTH!

:)

Tom

[Jim Hinze]

I was hoping to wait on the pictures until after the finish was applied. However I'm still thinking about not applying a finish. I'll post pictures Tues. morning (that is as soon as I can do it)

It is hard for me to not put BLO on the walnut. Walnut just looks so good with BLO. Maybe I can put BLO on just the walnut and not on the maple??

Tom,

Oiling one without the other would create an imbalance that would be undersierable. I like the recomendation of Lee Valley's toung oil... You could probably think it a bit more with naptha or mineral spirits....