Fox's Modern Table

[Eric.]

I'm certainly not trying to dissuade you from experimentation.  I'm curious about the results, honestly.  I like seeing what different finishes do to wood...especially when it's on someone else's time.

It's quite possible that the BLO will give the cherry a richer color, simply because BLO has more amber color than Minwax WOP.  But the sheen will end up pretty much identical since you're putting the WOP on both, and eventually the cherry will darken with age and supersede any color advantage you might gain initially.  I think in a few years the table and the WOP test board will be nearly identical to the human eye, all else being equal.

[wtnhighlander]

Russel, the best thing about woodworking as a hobby, is that you can "waste" as much time as you like, and still have fun!

[Chet]

5 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

Russel, the best thing about woodworking as a hobby, is that you can "waste" as much time as you like, and still have fun!

Absolutely!

[Denette]

 

Ok, here are the initial results! The three boards here are (from biggest to smallest) the top, side, and an offcut of the figured cherry panel. The smallest board has Minwax Wipe-on Poly, and the others have BLO on them. This is the second coat for both finishes.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm biased, but I like the depth the BLO imparts.

 

 

The test board that are used the wipe on poly on was previously used to test other finishes, so I had to sand it down starting with 40 grit sand paper. One of the finishes that was on the surface was boiled linseed oil, and on the other half of the board was polyurethane. The poly just vanished under the 40 grit paper, but I had to hog out about 1/16" of thickness to make it all the way through the BLO. The article I read about the Moser finish said that that penetration, which is made even more intense with heated BLO, serves to toughen up the wood over the years as the oil cures up. I doubt it brings much strength for the first five or ten years, though, knowing how BLO cures so slowly.

 

 

Edit: I'm not so focused on the final sheen as such - I'm trying the heated BLO because, at least in theory, the enhanced absorption of oil into the fibers should make the figure more dramatic. I'm totally pleased with the topcoat that wipe-on poly provides.

 

Also, the boards are in the bed of my truck because 1, the figured cherry is considerably paler than the rest of the boards and I wanted to give them a tan so it all looks better together, and 2, the figure is much clearer in brighter light.

[Eric.]

More color, mos def.  You're halfway to a donut.  I'd really like to revisit the comparison in a year to make a conclusive judgment, after the natural color shift.

But at this point, you win.

I do think ARS would be closer though, because it has significantly more amber color than MWOP.

 

 

[wdwerker]

It's amazing what an afternoon in the sun can do to cherry.

[Denette]

Ok, I lied about my schedule. I thought things through a little more and realized that if I did all the BLO before gluing up, and then sanded the front edges flush with one another, the finish might not be super even depending on how far from flush (and therefore how much sanding would be done) the front faces turned out. So I glued this afternoon. Behold!

 

 

Things went fairly well, which was a relief. Getting that mitered dovetailed case side in place and glued up, with a tight miter hiding all my hard work, made me feel like a success.

 

I'll unclamp tomorrow morning and do a lighter sanding before the final hot BLO job, then work on some drawers. Woo!

[Chet]

Its going to look good.  The finish has some nice color.

[Eric.]

28 minutes ago, Denette said:

before the final hot BLO job

Um...this is supposed to be a family-friendly forum, buddy. LOL

[Denette]

Um...this is supposed to be a family-friendly forum, buddy. LOL

No idea what you're talking about.

 

[Chet]

Looking good Russell.  And you do too absolutely know what Eric is talking about, otherwise leave your man card at the door. 

[pkinneb]

Coming along nicely!

[Eric.]

I owe you a donut.

The color is phenomenal for a freshly-finished piece.  Still not sure it's worth it in the long run, but it looks damn nice right now.  Rich.

[MisterDrow]

Looks amazing! Thanks for sharing the journey with us!

[Alan G]

Looks great!

[Denette]

I owe you a donut.

The color is phenomenal for a freshly-finished piece.  Still not sure it's worth it in the long run, but it looks damn nice right now.  Rich.

I accept Shipley's, Krispy Kreme, and Dunkin.

 

Also, here's an interesting development: I visited the Thomas Moser company's website just because I like their designs, and discovered that they've altered their finishing process over the years in much the same way as I'm going to - instead of an oil and wax finish, they now apply oil and catalyzed lacquer. Just found that interesting.

 

Thanks for all the kind words!

 

I just finished cutting the drawer fronts to size. The final design is to have them flush to the front, with as small a reveal possible. They only protrude in the photo because they would never have come out if I'd pushed them in to be flush.

 

The drawer fronts were my "surprise figured" board.

 

I'm still thinking through drawer pulls, too. They will either be cherry & shop made or purchased and brushed nickel. I may try both and just see which I like better.

[SawDustB]

Very nice! I think with the right metal pull it could really finish off the piece. Of course, the cherry pulls would be nice too, just a bit more understated.

[mat60]

Always enjoy your projects. Nice looking table.

[wtnhighlander]

Wow, Russel! Earning a donut from Eric is quite an accomplishment!

 

That piece is outstanding, thanks for sharing the finishing process. I'm going to find something to use it on now!

 

As for pulls, I vote brushed nickel, one cat and one@llama.

[Denette]

Wow, Russel! Earning a donut from Eric is quite an accomplishment!

 

That piece is outstanding, thanks for sharing the finishing process. I'm going to find something to use it on now!

 

As for pulls, I vote brushed nickel, one cat and one@llama.

 

I plan on having the donut taxidermied and mounting it in the shop!

 

I'm thinking about these knobs, maybe. They're one inch wide.

 

But I'm open to other ideas, too. I want to either do a knob like that one or maybe a 3" pull - we will see!

[drzaius]

3 hours ago, Denette said:

I plan on having the donut taxidermied and mounting it in the shop!

That'd go well with @Llama's pork chop

[Eric.]

10 hours ago, Denette said:

I plan on having the donut taxidermied and mounting it in the shop!

 

[shaneymack]

Russell, I agree with everyone else, it looks amazing! In your most recent pictures, how many coats of BLO are on it?

 

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[Denette]

Russell, I agree with everyone else, it looks amazing! In your most recent pictures, how many coats of BLO are on it?

 

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Thank you!

 

It has all three coats on. The only boiled linseed oil I'll be adding at this point is on the edges of the drawers after trimming them to fit.

[RHASG]

 

I plan on having the donut taxidermied and mounting it in the shop!

 

I'm thinking about these knobs, maybe. They're one inch wide.

 

But I'm open to other ideas, too. I want to either do a knob like that one or maybe a 3" pull - we will see!

 

You might look at cshardware.com or leevalley.com which both have large catalogs of hardware.

 

I can vouch for csharsware as having excellent quality product. I put a series of their pulls on all the kitchen, bath and laundry cabinets and drawers in my house.

 

 

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