On Aug 31, 11:40 am, Kevin wrote:
I have got my little paws on some nice black walnut and I have been
considering buying the Beale (or some other) set of buffing wheels but
am unsure of when to use. My bowl making procedure when I have a
REALLY NICE piece of wood is:

Turn to shape.
Sand to around 240 to 320.
Watco Danish oil (or not)
Wet sand with 320 and some Watco. Let dry.
Wet sand with 400 and some Watco. Let dry.
Wet sand with 500 and some Watco. Let dry.
Apply shellac.

When the wood is somewhat less than ideal, I sand to 320, oil, let dry
and then shellac.
I am guessing that the buffing would not come in until after all
sanding is complete (duh!) but before the shellac. Comments
appreciated.


Hello Kevin,

My personal opinion is that Shellac is a wood sealer. I used it for
years as a sanding sealer until I found that some finishes seem to not
work well over Shellac. Then, several years ago, I saw Soren Berger of
New Zealand doing a bowl turning demonstration in Seattle. Soren
turned the bowl and sanded to 240 grit. He then applied one coat of
Danish Oil. He said that he normally applied one coat, lets it dry and
then applies a second coat and lets it dry before buffing. Amy way he
applied only one coat that night and wiped if off, then buffed it with
the Beall Buffing system. The bowl shined like it had been sprayed
with high gloss lacquer. I was impressed enough to buy the Beall
Buffing System.

I don't turn many bowls these days and those that I do turn I
generally coat with walnut oil. When the walnut oil is dry, it takes
several days, I can buff with the Beall System and get a nice looking
bowl.

The most recent bowl that I finished was sanded to 600 grit and then a
coat of gloss Tung Oil was applied. I let it dry and then sanded with
600 grit. I wiped it clean and then sprayed it with a light coat of
Deft gloss wood finish (spray can). When dry, I steel wooled the
entire surface, wiped it clean, and sprayed with a final coat of Deft
gloss. The bowl turned out beautiful. I never buffed that bowl at all.

Good Luck,

Fred Holder
http://www.fholder.com