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    How to Select and Apply the Right Finish

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    How to Select and Apply the Right Finish

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    4K views322 pages

    Understanding Wood Finishing

    Uploaded by

    aboutsoundcraft
    How to Select and Apply the Right Finish

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 322
    wi FINISHING How to Select and Apply the Right Finish UNDERSTANDING FINISHING How to Select and Apply the Right Finish Our Mission We publish books that empower people's lives, “Text copyright © 1904 by Bob Flexner Photographs, except where noted, copyright © 14 by Rick Mastell ustrations copyright © 1904 by Lee Hav ad Image & Word Published! 19% by Rodale Press, Ine. ‘The author and editors who compiled this book have tried to make al of the contents as accurate and ws correct ae possible, Mlvstrators, photogeapha, and text have all been carefully ‘checked ail cross-byhand sanding, the same as you should with pad sanders. | Sanding by hand is almost a lost art, but I've always enjoyed it d found it a very effective way to sand wood. You can hold the sandpaper directly in your hand, or you can wrap the sandpaper ‘around a block made of cork, fell, rubber, or wood. If you use a pod block, glue a piece of 1/rinch cork, felt, or rubber onto the ottom to provide a cushion bebind the sandpaper to reduce g. A chalkboard eraser or a material like ceiling tile can bbe used to back your sandpaper. Its almost always better, when sanding flat surfaces, to back sandpaper with a sanding block (Figure 23) rather than your hand. Your hand will tend to dig out the softer grain in the wood, esulting in a dimpled or ridged effect that’s noticeable after you pply the finish. On moldings and other curved surfaces you can't a flat block. But if you have a large number of pieces to sand, YoU may find it advantageous to make a negative of the molding “from wood, Styrofoam, or other firm material to give good back- ng to the sandpaper. (A dowel rod of the proper diameter can aid ‘nsanding coves, for instance.) Otherwise, you can hold the sand- Paper in your hand. The dimples you create won't show as badly ‘moldings or curved surfaces as they would on flat surfaces. When I sand by hand, f tear tle 9 x 1Linch sheets in thirds ss the width (Figure 24), If 'm using a sanding block, | fold ‘ofthe thirds in half and wrap it around the sides of the block, ding it in place with my thumb and fingers. When one side is ‘well used, I flip the sandpaper. When that is used, I unfold the Upaper and wrap it all around the block so that the crease is “under the block. This way, there is no waste. 37h" rubber, 2" thick are zo ee eaters ev areing ck depend upon the size of your hand. The climensions cbove ore about average. If your block is made from wood, glue on « eine thick piece of felt, cork, or rubber to reduce sondpaper clogging, Figure 2-4: You get the best use out of sandpaper by tearing the 9 x 11-inch sheet in thirds ocross the widih, then folding each ofthe thieds im half (for use with o soning block) or in thirds agoin (for use with ro block). hate 26: For removing ill mors, the hand scroper works faster, cleaner, and more eflectvely thon sandpaper. If?'m using my hand to back the sandpaper, fold one of the thirds into thirds again and overlap them. This gives me three fresh surfaces that stay in place as I sand. and it reduces waste. Whether you're sanding with your hand or with a block, you should always sand in the direction of the grain, or you will surely produce crossgrain scratches that will stow through the finish. W's also wiser to move the sandpaper with the folded edge facing the direction of travel. An open edge of sandpaper is more likely to catch under a sliver of wood and lift it, which will, at the least, tear the sandpaper and could jain painfully into your hand, [As your final step, run the sandpaper lightly over every right- angled edge of the wood to remove sharp corners that can easily dent, can feel unfriendly to the hand, and might be too sharp to hold the finish. This is sometimes called breaking the edges. Serapers ‘The fastest, cleanest, safest, and most enjoyable tool to use for removing mill marks and other defects in wood is the scraper. ‘There are two kinds: the hand scraper, which you hold directly in your hand, and the cabinet scraper, which is held in a castiron body that has a flat sole and two handles. (There is also the com- mon paint scraper: however, this tool has limited use in wood- working.) Both serapers are misnamed because they don’t scrape the wood at all but rather slice very thin shavings. ‘These serapers fit a category of hand tools that almost totally disappeared from use in the United States as a result of our love atiair with power machinery. Recently, scrapers have begun returning to favor. [first encountered scrapers in the mid-1970s, when | was working in Denmark, Every cabinetmaker there had several handscrapers in his tool Kit. was employed as the shop finisher at the time and was taught to use the hand scraper to remove cured runs and sags in my finishes and to cut back and level a finish rapidly in order to create a mirror flat surface. The hand scraper cuts off ribbons of finish far faster than sandpaper can scratch the finish off, It doest does, and it’s more economatcal. Asscraper is to sandpaper what a word processor is toa type- writer. 've never known a woodworker who learned to use a scraper, or a writer a word processor, who wanted to go back. Scrapers and word processors both increase efficiency many times over. True woodworkers would rather make shavings than sawdust anyway! m up the way sandpaper To use the hand scraper, hold it between the thuinbs and fore- | fingers of both hands at an angle of about 50 to 70 degrees above | the wood surface or until you feel the burr on the scraper edge | PREPARING THE Woop SURFACE ‘2lch. Then push it away from you or pull it toward you, cutting a Fibhonlike shaving as you go (Photo: can also Shift one hand to the reverse position and scrape s Pendicular to your body (Photo 29), If dust is your only product, the scraper is not sharp. (See “Sharpening a Hand Scraper” on ‘Page 21 and “Sharpening a Cabinet Scraper” on page 24.) When you push the scraper, it will tend to bow out stightly in the middle from the pressure of your thumbs. This will create a Slightly convex edge and almost imperceptible hollows in the sur- Photos 2-7, 2-8, and 2-9: There are three ‘ways 10 use @ scraper. Al top: Hold it between the thumbs and forefingers ot cn angle of ‘cbout 50 to 70 degrees or until you feel the burr on the scraper edge catch, ard push it oway from you. Above, let: Use a similar grip, but pul the scroper loword you. Above, right Shift one hand to the reverse poston and serope sideways, perpendicular to your body. Photo 2-10: Like the hand scroper, the cabinet scraper is misnomed: Both slice very thin shavings of wood. If your scroper is producing powder, ifs dull. face you're scraping This unevenness could show up under atin- | ish. You should sand out these hollows or scrape them flat using | one of the other two hand positions, scraping toward you or side- ways. But pushing the scraper is the most effective way to remove the most wood. To keep the scraper from heating up. turn it often to another edge. If the scraper gets too hot to hold, set it aside and let it cool for a moment. When you're using a hand scraper to remove mill marks, hold It at a slight angle to the washbuardlike rows, so you cut off the ridges rather than dip in and out of the hollows, accentuating the defect. Change your angle of cut with each pass. Hand scrapers can also be used to smooth contoured sur faces: A straight hand scraper will follow a convex curve, and a | French-curved scraper will get into concave contours. The cabinet scraper cuts the same way as the hand scraper. How: ever, the cat maintain a level surface (Photo 2-10). [find it particularly useful when | want to even the raised edges of glued-up boards that didn’t come together flat. begin by scraping off the greater part of the raised edge (this could also be done with a belt sander). [Next I scrape diagonally across the grain, alternating from a lelt diagonal to a right diagonal, until the top is flat. Then I scrape a few passes with the grain. A light sanding, and the panel is ready to finish wet scraper has a flat sole, which makes it easier to Either scraper is more forgiving than a hand plane. Because of the high cutting angle. a scraper tends not to tear the grain: you don’t have to worry as much about grain direction, swirls, or knots, You can scrape with, against, or across the geai (Conrinaea’ on page 26) | Prva ING THE Woon SURFACE ' t Peromns rxoricune xr sharpening any teol _ involves learning a few basics as well as a {govd deal of practice and experience. ‘When you first try to sharpen a tool, it 5 Infinitely difficult. Later, when youlve mastered the touch, it’s so easy ‘you can’t understand why you had so inuel trouble earlier ‘There are almost as many ways to “sharpen a hand scraper as there are " woodworkers using one. But all the " methods follow the same principles. You ‘Want to make the two long edges of the per perfectly flat and perpendicular “othe sides. Then you want to roll a very fine burr on each of the four junctures bout 5 degrees off the perpendicular ure 25). This burr is what cuts the ngs when you push or pull the faper along the wood or finish. Begin by clamping the scraper Aertically into a wood jawed vise (metal will mar the scraper and, eventually, edge), leaving %/s to 1 inch of the long showing above the vise. Using a nmon Binch or 10-inch mill file, round corners slightly at the ends of the long ge. This will reduce the likelihood of ry perfectly fet, then turn the edges to (SHARPENING A HAND: 21 SCRAPER Photo 2-11: Using a standard 8- or 10-inch mill file, file the edge of the seroper util the sheen is even. Hold the file in line withthe scroper to avid hollowing i. Photo 2-12: The trick to whetting he edge of o scraper without rounding it sto bow the scroper slightly es you move it over the stone. Avoid cutting a groove in he stone by holding the scraper al an angle to your

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