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.

Kevin writes:

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.

The three wheels a coarse polish, fine polish, wax.

If you're going to shellac, you can use the first two wheels between
sanding and shellacing, but I suspect that's a waste of time - the
shellac would have covered up any defects that buffing would buff out
anyway, and you want to make sure you don't leave buffing compound on
the wood. Plus, you don't want to get buffing compound in the pores
of the wood, then seal it in with shellac.

So, IMHO, shellac then buff/wax.

Also, make sure the shellac is DRY. I mean hard dry, not finger-touch
dry.

Also, you should practice on a piece of scrap wood. A flat chunk
about 2" wide is sufficient.

Actually any buffing comes AFTER the finish is applied and dried. In
my Luthier (building a guitar) project, I learned that a higher
quality finish is possible.

So the proceedure would be oil, let dry, scuff sand, tac, shelac then
go into a series of scuff sanding, tac clothing, shelacing.

At this point you're building up layers that you'll be able to buff or
polish off. On my guitar I faced with balancing finish thickness with
finish quality because it effected the sound quality. But on a
project like a bowl, you could get really thick.

WARNING

This applies to spray finishes. It's real easy to blow right though
the finish when power buffing or polishing. You're dealing with a
layer that can be thinner than a human hair. So keep the project
moving or the buffer depending on your arrangement and don't press
hard.



On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 12:40:40 -0700, Kevin wrote:

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.

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.


I shellac and then buff. I also have buffed without any sort finish, depends
on the wood. Think I read somewhere they don`t recommend shellac as it can
heat up but I`ve learned go easy with it.

"Kevin" wrote in message
ups.com...
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.


When you wet sand with the Watco you're stuffing slurry and grit into the
pores. Do you solvent wipe and brush this out, or just leave it there for
the next event? If leaving, why bother to shellac? Use a higher-solids
varnish over the Watco and get a bland, smooth surface. I'd rather have
some pores visible to make it look a bit more realistic than a wood print,
myself.

As most have said, polish the finish, even if you've burnished the wood.
Makes shellac/lacquer a better choice than varnish, because varnish bonds
mechanically, and is in distinct layers than can give some scatter, or
through which you can buff and make a visible hole to the coat below.
Shellac or lacquer is just one coat, chemically tied together, so it's more
forgiving. Shellac does start to flow at about 150-175F, so don't spend too
much time in one spot or press too hard.

On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 12:40:40 -0700, 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.

I got dragged, kicking and screaming, into buffing a few years ago...
Now, I pretty much buff all my turnings and the only finish I use, if any, is
Natural Danish oil..

I usually sand to 600.. with hardwood like walnut, as soon as the sanding is
done I run it through the 3 wheels, really concentrating on the 1st wheel..
that's where the actual buffing is, the next one polishes and cleans the buffing
compound off and the 3rds one applies the wax..

Most woods can be buffed without a finish, if you're applying friction polish or
uu-shine, just use the wax wheel after the finish is DRY...

As someone said, practice!
It's no fun to work for hours on a bowl and then have it snatched out of your
hands and bouncing around the shop... DAMHIKT

For small things like pens, bud vases, etc., I use dowels to hold the work while
buffing, or in the case of pens, 1/4" threaded rod with wood spacers...
It's REALLY difficult for me to hold a 2 or 3" pen blank in my hand and buff the
whole thing, much less keep an 8" wheel spinning at 1,800 rpm from grabbing it
and launching it into orbit.. YMWV



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

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

I'd like to thank all for their responses to my query regarding the
buffing process. They have been really informative as was a
illustrative of the wide range of options available.



On Sep 1, 7:33 pm, Fred Holder wrote:
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

On Tue, 04 Sep 2007 07:01:45 -0700, Kevin wrote:

Kevin..

Just a warning, like most new tools you get, it doesn't stop with the first $70
purchase... ;-]

I now have bowl/goblet buffs in 3 different sizes and still find a need for
different sizes... then there was the decision to buy a 2nd kit, so I could do 2
wheels or buffs at a time....

It's sort of like getting your first scraper and realizing you need more sizes,
etc... lol



I'd like to thank all for their responses to my query regarding the
buffing process. They have been really informative as was a
illustrative of the wide range of options available.



On Sep 1, 7:33 pm, Fred Holder wrote:
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



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing