Hello all,

The first of my home-grown storage boxes is taking shape, and if I am
going to put any kind of finish on the inside surfaces, I should do it soon.

It looks to me as though people typically finish the outside surfaces
and leave raw wood (poplar in my case) contacting the oily tooling. Is
that what you recommend? I am thinking of using an oil finish on the
outside.

Bill

Bill Schwab wrote:
Hello all,

The first of my home-grown storage boxes is taking shape, and if I am
going to put any kind of finish on the inside surfaces, I should do it
soon.

It looks to me as though people typically finish the outside surfaces
and leave raw wood (poplar in my case) contacting the oily tooling. Is
that what you recommend? I am thinking of using an oil finish on the
outside.

I'm no woodworker so take my advise with
a grain of salt. Poplar is pretty soft
and I'd go with a hard varathane coating
of some sort to protect it from minor
knocks.

Jim Stewart wrote:
Bill Schwab wrote:
Hello all,

The first of my home-grown storage boxes is taking shape, and if I am
going to put any kind of finish on the inside surfaces, I should do
it soon.

It looks to me as though people typically finish the outside surfaces
and leave raw wood (poplar in my case) contacting the oily tooling. Is
that what you recommend? I am thinking of using an oil finish on
the outside.

I'm no woodworker so take my advise with
a grain of salt. Poplar is pretty soft
and I'd go with a hard varathane coating
of some sort to protect it from minor
knocks.

I'm a master cabinet maker , and my advice is to finish it inside with the
same type of finish you plan on using for the outside . The reason for that
is to control moisture absorption . With the same type of finish in and out
, the wood absorbs equally on both surfaces , and maintains balanced
internal stresses . Leave a raw piece of wood on a (very) wet surface and
you'll understand ...

--
Snag aka OSG #1
'76 FLH "Bent Lady"
BS132 SENS NEWT
"A hand shift is a manly shift ."
shamelessly stolen
none to one to reply

"Snag" wrote in message
...
Jim Stewart wrote:
Bill Schwab wrote:
Hello all,

The first of my home-grown storage boxes is taking shape, and if I am
going to put any kind of finish on the inside surfaces, I should do
it soon.

It looks to me as though people typically finish the outside surfaces
and leave raw wood (poplar in my case) contacting the oily tooling. Is
that what you recommend? I am thinking of using an oil finish on
the outside.

I'm no woodworker so take my advise with
a grain of salt. Poplar is pretty soft
and I'd go with a hard varathane coating
of some sort to protect it from minor
knocks.

I'm a master cabinet maker , and my advice is to finish it inside with the
same type of finish you plan on using for the outside . The reason for
that is to control moisture absorption . With the same type of finish in
and out , the wood absorbs equally on both surfaces , and maintains
balanced internal stresses . Leave a raw piece of wood on a (very) wet
surface and you'll understand ...

--
Snag aka OSG #1
'76 FLH "Bent Lady"
BS132 SENS NEWT
"A hand shift is a manly shift ."
shamelessly stolen
none to one to reply


And for a machinist tool box, what would you personally recommend for a
finish?

Steve.

Steve, Jim,

I'm a master cabinet maker , and my advice is to finish it inside with the
same type of finish you plan on using for the outside . The reason for
that is to control moisture absorption . With the same type of finish in
and out , the wood absorbs equally on both surfaces , and maintains
balanced internal stresses . Leave a raw piece of wood on a (very) wet
surface and you'll understand ...

And for a machinist tool box, what would you personally recommend for a
finish?

That's the real question. I would rather destroy a box I made largely
for practice than do any damage to my collets. FWIW, the box that came
with my starter endmill set has some kind of varnish on the outside and
bare wood inside. I lean toward oil finish, but have some concerns
about it or anything more modern being in contact with oily collets.

Bill

Bill Schwab wrote:
Steve, Jim,

I'm a master cabinet maker , and my advice is to finish it inside with the
same type of finish you plan on using for the outside . The reason for
that is to control moisture absorption . With the same type of finish in
and out , the wood absorbs equally on both surfaces , and maintains
balanced internal stresses . Leave a raw piece of wood on a (very) wet
surface and you'll understand ...

And for a machinist tool box, what would you personally recommend for a
finish?

That's the real question. I would rather destroy a box I made largely
for practice than do any damage to my collets. FWIW, the box that came
with my starter endmill set has some kind of varnish on the outside and
bare wood inside. I lean toward oil finish, but have some concerns
about it or anything more modern being in contact with oily collets.

Bill

If you want traditional, go with shellac. Nothing in that that will
react with metal or attract moisture. I've used Deft's Clear Wood
Finish, which is a lacquer modified for brushing. You can also get it
in a spray can but it takes a lot of spray to build up a good finish.
It also dries quickly. I've had a case I made out of luan door skin
finished with Deft for over 20 years with my Starrett combination
square inside, no rust, no ill effects and the case still looks good
despite some rough knocks. One thing about either of these is that
surfaces can be touched up and the new finish will bond to the old with
no problems, not the case with polyurethanes or some spray enamels.

Stan

And then use (green! it's traditional) felt to line the inside of the
box. It'll help protect the tools and absorb fluids.

Snag wrote:

I'm a master cabinet maker , and my advice is to finish it inside with the
same type of finish you plan on using for the outside . The reason for that
is to control moisture absorption . With the same type of finish in and out
, the wood absorbs equally on both surfaces , and maintains balanced
internal stresses . Leave a raw piece of wood on a (very) wet surface and
you'll understand ...

Wood breathes and moves so anytime any finish is put on one side then
the same finish should be put on the reverse side to combat cupping and
twisting caused by moisture absorption at different rates between the two
sides.
Dick

--
Richard H. Neighbors
Building and repairing fine billiard cues for real pool players at
affordable prices.
Over 35 years exp. Located in Cincinnati OH
ph.# 513 233-7499
e-mail
web site http://www.dickiecues.com
"Bill Schwab" wrote in message
...
Hello all,

The first of my home-grown storage boxes is taking shape, and if I am
going to put any kind of finish on the inside surfaces, I should do it
soon.

It looks to me as though people typically finish the outside surfaces and
leave raw wood (poplar in my case) contacting the oily tooling. Is that
what you recommend? I am thinking of using an oil finish on the outside.

Bill

Ditto Varathane... best stuff ever invented!

"Dick" wrote in message
. ..
Wood breathes and moves so anytime any finish is put on one side then
the same finish should be put on the reverse side to combat cupping and
twisting caused by moisture absorption at different rates between the two
sides.
Dick

--
Richard H. Neighbors
Building and repairing fine billiard cues for real pool players at
affordable prices.
Over 35 years exp. Located in Cincinnati OH
ph.# 513 233-7499
e-mail
web site http://www.dickiecues.com
"Bill Schwab" wrote in message
...
Hello all,

The first of my home-grown storage boxes is taking shape, and if I am
going to put any kind of finish on the inside surfaces, I should do it
soon.

It looks to me as though people typically finish the outside surfaces
and
leave raw wood (poplar in my case) contacting the oily tooling. Is that
what you recommend? I am thinking of using an oil finish on the
outside.

Bill

Bill Schwab wrote:
Hello all,

The first of my home-grown storage boxes is taking shape, and if I am
going to put any kind of finish on the inside surfaces, I should do it
soon.

It looks to me as though people typically finish the outside surfaces
and leave raw wood (poplar in my case) contacting the oily tooling. Is
that what you recommend? I am thinking of using an oil finish on the
outside.

Bill


Hi Bill:

My storage boxes are made out of popular. I use SAE 30 non detergent
motor oil on the outside and inside. Just rub it in.


Bill

My storage boxes are made out of popular. I use SAE 30 non detergent
motor oil on the outside and inside. Just rub it in.

....and if you want a darker color, run it through a crankcase first.
:^)
--Glenn Lyford

wrote:

My storage boxes are made out of popular. I use SAE 30 non detergent
motor oil on the outside and inside. Just rub it in.


...and if you want a darker color, run it through a crankcase first.
:^)

....and if you want it black, run it through a diesel crankcase.