first hollow form

[Tony Wheeler]

This is my first hollow form with 2 in opening and is 7 1/2 x 4. This was turned green then microwave to what I hope was dry oil sanding the two coating of BLO inside and out allowed to set a couple of days and then wipen on poly that will not dry so I wipe it down with thinner and bought a new can of wipe on poly and still stays tackie. Any Ideas on what the problem is?

[Tony De Masi]

Tony,

That is a very impressive HF for your first or 100th. Very well done. As for the finish the only comment or suggestion I have is that the BLO was not completely "cured" before you applied the poly. With BLO there is a difference between dry and cured.

Tony

[Paul Engle]

Very nice Tony , I like it , shor doesn't look like a first time to me, yep gotta let the BLO full cure or you trap solvents with an over coat and will not harden up.

[Ron Erickson]

Very nice HF, I like the rim and nice flowing lines.

[Ben Gastfriend]

I agree, It looks great, the flow is excellent!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Tony - very nice looking hollow form! Beautiful wood! Is it oak?

BLO takes a long time to dry and depends on temp and humidity! Clean it up and set it aside to dry for at least a week and check it again.

Very nice work! Looking forward to seeing your next HF!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great looking piece Tony for your first. As the others have said your BLO isn't cured and that is why it is tacky. I don't use BLO for that reason. It takes forever to dry it seems to me. I have found it takes a week or longer for it cure and I have found it takes a month or so to dry so you can apply poly over it. It may be my conditions in my shop.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

As stated by others.....very impressive first HF! Keep at it!

I use BLO to pop the grain a lot on my turnings. Let it dry and follow it with a coat or two of dewaxed shellac. Then the final coat of what ever your favorite finish is.....shellac will stick to anything...anything will stick to shellac.....some finishes don't like to stick to BLO and other oil based finishes.

Nicley done!

[Jim Becker]

Very nice HF, Tony.

The others are correct that the BLO needs to fully cure before you can put an oil-based varnish directly over it. Since you "wet sanded" with the oil, there is a lot of it to deal with. That said, to move you along, put on a barrier coat of de-waxed shellac (Zinsser SealCoat is de-waxed as is their spray bomb shellac...the latter will be easier for you to use) and then work with your varnish. If you're using a polyurethane varnish, the shellac MUST be de-waxed. But consider a non-poly varnish for a nicer look and much better results buffing. Poly is the worst choice for things you want to buff out because poly's one special property (because it's a floor finish) is abrasion resistance. Buffing is...abrasion. But in this case, the spray shellac might end up being your final finish and one it's cured you can also buff it out very nicely.

[Tony Wheeler]

Thanks for all the kind comments and info I didnt think the the finish would be a problem since you mix BLO and poly together I thought to make danish oil i will wipe it down with thinner and then try the shellac is the Zinners that you buy a Ace dewaxed and will it be marked on a can if dewaxed or not Ihave never used shellac but I did buy a can of the Zinners to make a friction polish with that I just havent got roundtuit yet Also it is Oak (burr) from a friends tree that beetles killed 150 180 years old from the santa fe trail in kansas
Guess I should spend a night in a Hoilday Inn

[Don Robert]

Make sure it is Zinsser SealCoat and it will be dewaxed. Great HF, BTW. What were your hollowing tools?

[Tom Sherman]

Very nice work Tony Keep at it you'll work out the finish.

[Tony Wheeler]

tools used on this was a bowl gouge a spindle gouge and sorby hollowmaster

[Mike Vickery]

Very nice looking piece, I love it!

[Kaptan J.W. Meek]

That is one of the best looking pieces I've seen.. Fantastic. I love the rays like quarter sawn white oak.. Just a really well done piece, with a phenominal piece of wood. If somebody doesn't like that? Don't let 'em in your house.

[Richard Madison]

Very nice piece. I love oak, especially the endgrain.

I use a wipe-on coat of BLO on spalted hackberry to enhance the contrast. Never tried it on oak. Wipe on to wet all surfaces and burnish with clean cloth or paper towel until the surface is dry. Set up overnight or even two days and finish with spray lacquer. No observable problem.

Note lacquer is completely different animal than poly-whatever.