How do you suspend your workpiece to finish all sides?

[Tim M Tuttle]

Hey all,

I am working on some shelves and need to finish all sides of the piece. In the past I have used painters pyramids but had an issue once where they left some pretty good indentions. I did my first coat last night (waterlox is that matters) and just rested them on little strips of scrap. The side that was resting on the scraps visibly showed. Is this something that will go away once the finish dries completely or should I go another route? One shelf is going to be low and one high so right now I am placing the unseen side down when letting them dry.

Thanks for your help.

[John TenEyck]

I usually use the plastic pyramids. You can reduce the tendency of them to leave dents in the work if you use more of them.

If your shelves have ends that won't be seen after installation you could drive screws into the ends and then put some scraps of wood under the screws to suspend the shelves for finishing.

John

[Bill McNiel]

I usually use the plastic pyramids. You can reduce the tendency of them to leave dents in the work if you use more of them.

If your shelves have ends that won't be seen after installation you could drive screws into the ends and then put some scraps of wood under the screws to suspend the shelves for finishing.

John

Exactly, or hang them with twine tied to the screws.

[Mike Henderson]

This is slower but I use a lazy susan and do one side at a time. When one side is well cured, I turn it over and do the other side.

One advantage of this approach is you don't tend to get any runs.

Mike

[Wayne Lomman]

Lean them at a 45 degree angle against the wall with a couple of thin sticks under the bottom edge. This also helps with faster curing - you get much better air circulation. Cheers

[Ted Calver]

I use little 3"x3"x3/4" blocks of scrap pine with a dry wall screw through the center, enough of them that the weight of the material dosen't cause a mark. Slightly flatten the end of the screw so it's not needle sharp, but sharper than the plastic pyramids. For large pieces you can create a bed of screws appropriate to the size of the piece using a larger base.

[Tim M Tuttle]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll give a few of these techniques a try.

[Pat Barry]

This is slower but I use a lazy susan and do one side at a time. When one side is well cured, I turn it over and do the other side.

One advantage of this approach is you don't tend to get any runs.

Mike

I agree with the one-sided at a time approach as well for something like a removable shelf that is finished by itself. I would not use pyramids on wet finsih

[Patrick Chase]

I agree with the one-sided at a time approach as well for something like a removable shelf that is finished by itself. I would not use pyramids on wet finsih

I take an in-between approach: I use the pyramids mostly on non-show faces, but only after the solvent has flashed off such that the finish is soft but no longer wet. In my climate that takes anywhere from minutes to a couple hours depending on the solvents.

[Rob Luter]

Jedi mind trick.

But seriously, either the plastic pyramids, brads driven into a board, or hang it if an eye screw can be added where no one will ever see the hole after completion (maybe the ends of the shelves?)

[Harold Balzonia]

It's a shelf so you're sure to have one edge up against the wall.... put some screws in the edge and hang it however you want. No one but the termites boring through from the outside of the house will ever see the holes....

[Frank Ashmore]

2 screws in each end of the shelf ,2 saw horses set apart so only the screws are on the sawhorses,spray 1 side and edge then flip using the screws and spray the other side and edge,using the screws move and lean against a wall

[Matt Day]

Im in the middle of spraying some shelves with Proclassic white. I am just doing one side at a time to help with runs, but if I was in a rush I’d use screws on the ends and either center the screws to make them spin or use two per side and flip.

[Dan Hulbert]

I use carpet tack strips. Lots of tiny points to spread the load. Screws or an eye hook in the end. Screws if you want to span supports, an eye hook if you can hang the pieces.

[Marty R Schlosser]

I somewhat follow Mike's advice, with the followint differences:

Place some cardboard on your rotating finishing table and turn the piece upside down onto the cardboard. Finish the underside of the bottom, completely. Allow it to dry, then place the piece upright on your finishing table and have at 'er!

Assuming you're spraying your finishes, if you set up your gun correctly with a horizontal spray pattern and the right air-finish ratio dialed into your gun, there's no reason why you should be getting any runs on the vertical surfaces.

This is slower but I use a lazy susan and do one side at a time. When one side is well cured, I turn it over and do the other side.

One advantage of this approach is you don't tend to get any runs.

Mike