I have come into possesion of a couple of sycamore logs and have
started roughing out some bowls. I have never used sycamore before,
and it will be a while before the bowls are dry enough to turn to
final shape and finish, but I thought I would check to see what folks
have used successfully to finish sycamore.

I don't want a really glossy finish like lacquer. I have a Beall
buffing system. I used Deft on an oak bowl and then polished it, but
the end grain is much darker than the side grain. Should I have used
some sort of a sealer before applying the Deft?

Dick Durbin
Tallahassee

On May 14, 11:56 am, Olebiker wrote:
I have come into possesion of a couple of sycamore logs and have started roughing out some bowls. I have never used sycamore before, and it will be a while before the bowls are dry enough to turn to final shape and finish, but I thought I would check to see what folks have used successfully to finish sycamore.

My experience with whateve species of sycamore we have around here is
great. Not only easy to turn, but it give a grain that is like
lacewood, or some other more exotic species. Some of the stuff I turn
has some tearout problems, but some doesn't.

Since I like the grain and light color, I tend not to put on oil as
that (to me!) makes it look muddy.


I don't want a really glossy finish like lacquer. I have a Beall buffing system. I used Deft on an oak bowl and then polished it, but the end grain is much darker than the side grain. Should I have used some sort of a sealer before applying the Deft?

I wouldn't worry about end grain vs. flat grain with oak. The dark
color on end grain will always be there to some extent.

To even out the absorbtion of the sealer and to help prevent blotchy
spots (uneven coloration) in the finish, seal the piece with Zinnser
sanding sealer. Not shellac, but sealer. This actually is shellac,
but it is dewaxed and has no color. This will readily absorb into the
wood (as thin as it is, for smooth pieces I still cut th sealer by
about 1/3 with alcohol) and can be sanded very quickly.

Just about all finishes stick to it. I like to use gloss finish on
small stuff as the semi gloss or satins have solids in them to diffuse
the light that also diffuse the grain. Apply your finish as you
normally would, same number of coats, etc. After it dries, then buff
it down with good quality 0000 steel wool with a little Johnson's
paste wax on it. Let that dry hard. Usually on sealed wood with
green sealer on it this takes a day or so. Then buff out as desired
with a soft cloth, not on the buffer.

It gives a great furniture style finish that lights up those little
tan flecks in the wood.

There is a fair amount of sycamore in my area, but it isn't really all
that common. When it is available, I try to get all I can as it is
great to turn.

Robert

On May 14, 3:26 pm, "
wrote:
There is a fair amount of sycamore in my area, but it isn't really all
that common. When it is available, I try to get all I can as it is
great to turn.

I was really surprised to see it here in Tallahassee. I didn't
realize it grew down here, but a coworker told me that one of his
neighbors cut down a big specimen and was having trouble getting rid
of it. It has turned beautifully so far.

On May 14, 2:43 pm, Olebiker wrote:

SNIP

one of his neighbors cut down a big specimen and was having trouble getting rid of it. It has turned beautifully so far.

It is so damn hot around here sometimes that we never see anything of
"spalted wood" unless some is discovered along a creek bed or some
place that stays at least a little shaded and moist.

You might try this if you have a bunch of it. Turn your wood as green
as possible, and then your project to about 20% of final thickness.
Put about 4 inches of the green wet shavings in the bottom of a
plastic grocery bag. Put the piece in a plastic grocery bag, and
then pack in the wet shavings in at about 3-4 inches all the way
around.

Open a beer. Drink as much as you need (this may require two beers)
to cool off. Pour about 3/4 of a beer into the shavings and cinch up
the top. Put the bagged piece into another bag with knots down, so
that when you tie the top of the second bag you have knots on both
sides.

Toss this into a cool, dark place (for me, under my shed) for about
three - four months. If you can wait six months - even better - just
in time for Christmas gifts!

When I have done this it spalts like crazy and looks like it has been
on the forest floor for years. I tried all kinds of recipes by adding
molasses, sugar, honey, etc, but none of them really made any
difference.

The cool part is that when you get to the end of your wait period it
is like unwrapping a present. DON"T forget to wear your particle
mask, though. I have pulled these out and they have been anywhere
from slightly spalted with just a few ink lines to slimy and messy
from me putting way to much moisture in the bag. It doesn't really
need that much. If I upack them to take a look after a couple of
months, I will add more beer as needed to wet the shavings.

Some of the pieces I have forced to spalt this way have come out
beautifully.

Robert

"Olebiker" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have come into possesion of a couple of sycamore logs and have
started roughing out some bowls. I have never used sycamore before,
and it will be a while before the bowls are dry enough to turn to
final shape and finish, but I thought I would check to see what folks
have used successfully to finish sycamore.


Light is generally preferred. Shellac or lacquer, maybe water-based (ugh!)
acrylic or urethane. You can Tripoli your shellac or lacquer finish to cut
the surface reflection. The Minwax wipe-on poly has a minimal darkening
effect. Give it a look on a suitable scrap.

I don't want a really glossy finish like lacquer. I have a Beall
buffing system. I used Deft on an oak bowl and then polished it, but
the end grain is much darker than the side grain. Should I have used
some sort of a sealer before applying the Deft?


End grain absorbs more light than face or quarter, and more finish for the
same reason - holes. The standard dodges are to supersand end grain,
hardening and closing the pores, though I don't think red oak is a good
candidate, given the size of the things, or seal. Deft is a brand, so seal
with shellac if you're using some sort of Deftoil, won't make a difference
if you're using a lacquer.

Hi Dick

The American Sycamore grows from Maine then west into Quebec, South
western Ontario,lower half of Michigan and into Nebraska, down all the
way into eastern Texas and east to northern Florida and up to Maine
again, it has the biggest native hardwood trunk diameter, like 11',
some were nearly 15'.

There are also some in N.E. Mexico.

Don't think any grows in George Tokarev's area

I have turned some, and was finishing a smaller (10") and slightly
spalted one just today, I used pure tung oil on it, It is not a open
grain wood, and it doesn't have an absorbing problem like Walnut or
Oak might give you, tung can be polished to shine if wanted, also pure
Tung does not yellow much.

For Oak or other open grain wood sealing them first does help to
lessen the oil absorption and subsequent bleeding.

Here's some pictures of Sycamore turning.

http://homepage.mac.com/l.vanderloo/PhotoAlbum26.html

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

On May 14, 12:56 pm, Olebiker wrote:
I have come into possesion of a couple of sycamore logs and have
started roughing out some bowls. I have never used sycamore before,
and it will be a while before the bowls are dry enough to turn to
final shape and finish, but I thought I would check to see what folks
have used successfully to finish sycamore.

I don't want a really glossy finish like lacquer. I have a Beall
buffing system. I used Deft on an oak bowl and then polished it, but
the end grain is much darker than the side grain. Should I have used
some sort of a sealer before applying the Deft?

Dick Durbin
Tallahassee

On 14 May 2007 12:43:08 -0700, Olebiker wrote:

On May 14, 3:26 pm, "
wrote:
There is a fair amount of sycamore in my area, but it isn't really all
that common. When it is available, I try to get all I can as it is
great to turn.

I was really surprised to see it here in Tallahassee. I didn't
realize it grew down here, but a coworker told me that one of his
neighbors cut down a big specimen and was having trouble getting rid
of it. It has turned beautifully so far.

Trouble getting rid of wood??? Sheesh. What you Florida folks need
is a good Wisconsin winter. Then you won't have that problem any
more...

On May 15, 6:20 am, Prometheus wrote:
Trouble getting rid of wood??? Sheesh. What you Florida folks need
is a good Wisconsin winter. Then you won't have that problem any
more...

Trust me on this one. If I never have to go to the barn to milk
before daylight in below zero weather again I will be perfectly
content.

Dick Durbin
Tallahassee

I like laquer on sycamore and oil finish on oak - if you don't want a lot of
shine, you can steel wool laquer as needed. I always turn oak to final
thckness (about 1/8 to 3/16) in a single session to avoid self destruction
of the bowl/vessle, the sycamore I've turned was much more stable
"Olebiker" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have come into possesion of a couple of sycamore logs and have
started roughing out some bowls. I have never used sycamore before,
and it will be a while before the bowls are dry enough to turn to
final shape and finish, but I thought I would check to see what folks
have used successfully to finish sycamore.

I don't want a really glossy finish like lacquer. I have a Beall
buffing system. I used Deft on an oak bowl and then polished it, but
the end grain is much darker than the side grain. Should I have used
some sort of a sealer before applying the Deft?

Dick Durbin
Tallahassee




--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On 15 May 2007 05:04:02 -0700, Olebiker wrote:

On May 15, 6:20 am, Prometheus wrote:
Trouble getting rid of wood??? Sheesh. What you Florida folks need
is a good Wisconsin winter. Then you won't have that problem any
more...

Trust me on this one. If I never have to go to the barn to milk
before daylight in below zero weather again I will be perfectly
content.

Ahh, now that was your problem- you were out milking cows.... I stay
as far away from farms as humanly possible, I just like the cold.

Not too many more years of winter left for me to enjoy, though- too
many injuries and blown joints over time are making the prospect of
moving south eventually more and more likely. Hard to continue to
like extreme temperature changes when you're a walking barometer.

But if I could just find a place that was 40-60 degrees year round,
with low humidity, that'd be perfect.

"Olebiker" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have come into possesion of a couple of sycamore logs and have
started roughing out some bowls. I have never used sycamore before,
and it will be a while before the bowls are dry enough to turn to
final shape and finish, but I thought I would check to see what folks
have used successfully to finish sycamore.


Just remembered something from long back that you might already have
discovered. The ray figure that makes sycamore visually interesting can be a
problem in turning. The rays aren't as well-attached as the rest of the
wood, and when turning along the grain, they will have a tendency to pop
loose, leaving little pits if you are taking aggressive cuts. Even beech
can do this if you're not careful, and it's a denser wood. Remember, the
rays are at right angles to the direction of the grain, so peel slowly.

On May 16, 8:00 am, "George" wrote:
Just remembered something from long back that you might already have
discovered. The ray figure that makes sycamore visually interesting can be a
problem in turning. The rays aren't as well-attached as the rest of the
wood, and when turning along the grain, they will have a tendency to pop
loose, leaving little pits if you are taking aggressive cuts. Even beech
can do this if you're not careful, and it's a denser wood. Remember, the
rays are at right angles to the direction of the grain, so peel slowly.

This is what makes the Internet so valuable. I might never have
learned that from reading books and the few people I know who turn.

On 16 May 2007 05:10:59 -0700, Olebiker wrote:

On May 16, 8:00 am, "George" wrote:
Just remembered something from long back that you might already have
discovered. The ray figure that makes sycamore visually interesting can be a
problem in turning. The rays aren't as well-attached as the rest of the
wood, and when turning along the grain, they will have a tendency to pop
loose, leaving little pits if you are taking aggressive cuts. Even beech
can do this if you're not careful, and it's a denser wood. Remember, the
rays are at right angles to the direction of the grain, so peel slowly.

This is what makes the Internet so valuable. I might never have
learned that from reading books and the few people I know who turn.

Boy, you're not kidding. Along with all the inevitable junk, I figure
I have gotten at least twice the informational value of an average
college education over the years, for the cost of a monthly ISP
account. Newsgroups, webpages, etc, have huge amounts of information
for anyone willing to take the time to look at them- it's kind of
amazing, considering that simple literacy has been the sole province
of a small, elite group of people throughout most of history!