It was Palm Sunday and the palm frond crosses naturally led this
woodturner to musing about the "queen of waxes", carnauba. (not during
the sermon or liturgy, Darrell).

Being botanically deprived (aka ignorant), I wondered if the hard, shiny
waterproof fronds of the coconut, sabal, royal and palmetto palms
hereabout contained a cheap & dirty substitute for carnauba wax. Not
knowing any better, I gathered a few fronds, including some mother in
law tongues and sea grape leaves to boot.

I thought about trying to dissolve the 'wax', but the solvents are too
nasty, I planned to freeze some samples and try to scrape the 'wax' off,
but so far I'm too lazy. What I did was to cut 1 in. strips about 8 in
long. and press them hard enough against rotating mahogany and cherry
spindles to get them hot.

They did make a hard glossy surface that beaded water, but that may have
been due to simple burnishing. Anyway the strips didn't stain the wood,
but may have added naught to the finish that a Beall buff wouldn't do
better.

If any of you turners in the lands of the outstretched palm (the trees,
not the hands of waiters and car parkers hustling for a tip) have tried
'palm frond finishing' or are inclined to try it please respond. If the
fronds don't work, we can burn them for next year's Ash Wednesday. Waste
not, want not. eh?


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

"Arch" wrote in message
...


If any of you turners in the lands of the outstretched palm (the trees,
not the hands of waiters and car parkers hustling for a tip) have tried
'palm frond finishing' or are inclined to try it please respond. If the
fronds don't work, we can burn them for next year's Ash Wednesday. Waste
not, want not. eh?


Try horsetails.

Hi George, thanks for a good suggestion.

Horse tails, cat tails and Japanese reeds will smooth and lay the grain,
but I was musing about domestic palm fronds as substitutes for carnauba
wax.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

No takers so far so I tried hi-speed burnishing/finishing a few more
spindles of various woods with palm frond strips.

The surfaces felt as smooth and looked as good as when buffed with the
tripoli-white diamond-wax 'system' and there were no brown smear or
white speck problems with light or dark colored woods. To me, they were
smoother than when burnished with sticks of ash & maple or shavings from
the spindle's timber, but I live in anecdote city way outside of
edvidence based county ....and I am often wrong.

Is this just burnishing or is it a free useful buffing 'system' where
palm trees grow? When the entire surface is involved, how do you tell
hi-speed burnishing from fine grit sanding or buffing?

What is burnishing anyway? Does it melt the cellulose fibers or harden
them or just lay them down to spring up and embarrass me later? Is it
nothing more than 'dry buffing? If so what about burnishing creams?
Does it have the reputation that using scrapers once had, a good
technique that no one admits to using and is unfairly belittled? Does
it not have a legitimate place in a woodturner's arsenal? Maybe someone
will straighten me out and even try the palm frond strips and report
their results, if only to shut me up.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

"Arch" wrote in message
...

What is burnishing anyway? Does it melt the cellulose fibers or harden
them or just lay them down to spring up and embarrass me later? Is it
nothing more than 'dry buffing? If so what about burnishing creams?
Does it have the reputation that using scrapers once had, a good
technique that no one admits to using and is unfairly belittled? Does
it not have a legitimate place in a woodturner's arsenal? Maybe someone
will straighten me out and even try the palm frond strips and report
their results, if only to shut me up.



Burnishing is done by carvers and (forgive me) flat woodworkers as well as
we spinners. Burnishing with another (softer) piece of wood or a bone
burnisher is most common, but power methods like a good brush, half-spent
flap sanders, or even your naked "Beall System" or other cheaper muslin
buffs will do as well. What it does, you well know. It lays down and
consolidates standing short grain when done by hand, lays down, consolidates
and possibly case-hardens when done with something to generate heat. I'm
sure some of those out there have observed the wonder of burnishing and
case-hardening complete with background scratches on a turning or two.
Going too fine too early or pressing too hard is almost a guarantee you
will, if not. You want to see lovely, try and fire-harden a piece of wood.

If you coat it after burnishing to limit moisture pickup, you should be
pretty good. You can leave it naked as well, but then a few stray drops of
water will have the predictible effect of raising what you layed down.
You'll have to re-burnish.

I'm sure we've all tried the Kraft paper burnish. Here's a picture of a
bowl in progress with a burnish prior to hollowing.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...en-By-Rear.jpg

Interior after hollowing.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...y-Interior.jpg As
long as no one sneezes on it, it'll look good for a long time.

Arch,
After reading George's post, sounds like you might be able to easily test
your question. Burnish/finish a bowl with the palm frond and then see how it
stands up to water. If it soaks it up, then the palm fronds didn't provide
an adequate amount of wax to seal the pores of the wood. If it doesn't soak,
then perhaps you've come across a cheap means of finishing a bowl. Cheap for
those with palms in the yards. Not many of those growing around here.

JD

--
He that will make a good use of any part
of his life must allow a large portion of it
to recreation.
- John Locke

"Arch" wrote in message
...

No takers so far so I tried hi-speed burnishing/finishing a few more
spindles of various woods with palm frond strips.

The surfaces felt as smooth and looked as good as when buffed with the
tripoli-white diamond-wax 'system' and there were no brown smear or
white speck problems with light or dark colored woods. To me, they were
smoother than when burnished with sticks of ash & maple or shavings from
the spindle's timber, but I live in anecdote city way outside of
edvidence based county ....and I am often wrong.

Is this just burnishing or is it a free useful buffing 'system' where
palm trees grow? When the entire surface is involved, how do you tell
hi-speed burnishing from fine grit sanding or buffing?

What is burnishing anyway? Does it melt the cellulose fibers or harden
them or just lay them down to spring up and embarrass me later? Is it
nothing more than 'dry buffing? If so what about burnishing creams?
Does it have the reputation that using scrapers once had, a good
technique that no one admits to using and is unfairly belittled? Does
it not have a legitimate place in a woodturner's arsenal? Maybe someone
will straighten me out and even try the palm frond strips and report
their results, if only to shut me up.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings