All set to start building a hope chest. No ply all lumber. Top, sides,front,
back,bottom boards joined.Line with aromatic cedar.
I would appreciate comments from people who have used walnut.
I can purchase kiln dried 4/4 2 sides surfaced for $4.16 B.F.( central Wi)
Any comments as to pluses or negatives?
I am not going to stain just using tung oil????
Oh cedar is$1.77 4/4 BF.

Lee wrote:
All set to start building a hope chest. No ply all lumber. Top, sides,front,
back,bottom boards joined.Line with aromatic cedar.
I would appreciate comments from people who have used walnut.
I can purchase kiln dried 4/4 2 sides surfaced for $4.16 B.F.( central Wi)
Any comments as to pluses or negatives?
I am not going to stain just using tung oil????
Oh cedar is$1.77 4/4 BF.


I work with walnut on a lot of smaller projects. It's easy to work and
finishes beautifully with tung oil.

What grit paper did you use as a final sand?
"Charlie M. 1958" wrote in message
...
Lee wrote:
All set to start building a hope chest. No ply all lumber. Top,
sides,front, back,bottom boards joined.Line with aromatic cedar.
I would appreciate comments from people who have used walnut.
I can purchase kiln dried 4/4 2 sides surfaced for $4.16 B.F.( central
Wi)
Any comments as to pluses or negatives?
I am not going to stain just using tung oil????
Oh cedar is$1.77 4/4 BF.
I work with walnut on a lot of smaller projects. It's easy to work and
finishes beautifully with tung oil.

Lee wrote:
What grit paper did you use as a final sand?

It really depends on what kind of look you want to end up with. For a
natural-looking finish with just tung oil, you'd probably find that 220
was sufficient. I've gone even finer than that when I wanted to finish
with poly to a mirror-like gloss.

Charlie M. 1958 wrote:
Lee wrote:
What grit paper did you use as a final sand?

It really depends on what kind of look you want to end up with. For a
natural-looking finish with just tung oil, you'd probably find that 220
was sufficient. I've gone even finer than that when I wanted to finish
with poly to a mirror-like gloss.

Charlie,
Do you use any sort of pore filler on Walnut?

Dick Durbin
Tallahassee

"Lee" wrote in message

What grit paper did you use as a final sand?

Using an oil/varnish finish on walnut, run through all the grits to 320
(using an air compressor or tack cloth between grits), then burnish with
#0000 steel wool before applying the first coat of oil.

.... works for me.

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Olebiker wrote:

Charlie,
Do you use any sort of pore filler on Walnut?

Dick Durbin
Tallahassee

I don't. And if you follow Swingman's method you'll really get a
glassy-smooth surface without using pore filler.

Lee wrote:
I would appreciate comments from people who have used walnut.
I can purchase kiln dried 4/4 2 sides surfaced for $4.16 B.F.( central Wi)
Any comments as to pluses or negatives?

I've used some walnut in a couple projects, and it's a great wood with
which to work. Quite hard, but it's not difficult to work with either
machines or hand tools. If I needed some, and it were available for
about $4/bf, I'd definitely get enough for my project and some extra.

I am not going to stain just using tung oil????

Good choice. Almost any other clearcoat would be fine too, but tung
oil looks good, it's fairly easy to apply, and it's non-toxic. I used
a urethane varnish (for more protection) on my last project containing
walnut, and the clearcoat really brought out some 3D figure in the
walnut that I didn't see at all before finishing.
Good luck, and have fun working with this great wood!
Andy

"Lee" wrote in message
. ..
All set to start building a hope chest. No ply all lumber. Top,
sides,front, back,bottom boards joined.Line with aromatic cedar.
I would appreciate comments from people who have used walnut.
I can purchase kiln dried 4/4 2 sides surfaced for $4.16 B.F.( central Wi)
Any comments as to pluses or negatives?
I am not going to stain just using tung oil????
Oh cedar is$1.77 4/4 BF.

Some thoughts on cedar linings, which are inserted or applied _after_
finishing both sides of the walnut and allowing the odor to dissipate. Even
kiln dried and resin set boards are likely to bleed a bit, given the amount
of resin available. Leaves you the option of finishing the inside of the
lining with shellac to keep stuff from getting sticky and letting the odor
come from the back, or my preferred, a sachet or two for odor, easily
renewable. No sense hiding walnut, even on the inside.

"Lee" wrote in message

I am not going to stain just using tung oil????

Good man ... like cherry, it should be a sin to stain walnut.

Here's one made with both walnut and cherry, unstained, that just had its
third coat of oil/varnish finish applied at lunchtime today (1/2/07):

http://www.e-woodshop.net/images/HC19.jpg

The finish is being applied indoors in my much warmer office due to a
deadline and the weather (high 30's in the shop at night the past few days).

A couple more coats of oil/varnish, followed by three more coats of oil/wax
should do it.

..... and I kinda like the smell of the finish permeating the office.

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Something to think about George. Thanks
"George" wrote in message
. ..

"Lee" wrote in message
. ..
All set to start building a hope chest. No ply all lumber. Top,
sides,front, back,bottom boards joined.Line with aromatic cedar.
I would appreciate comments from people who have used walnut.
I can purchase kiln dried 4/4 2 sides surfaced for $4.16 B.F.( central
Wi)
Any comments as to pluses or negatives?
I am not going to stain just using tung oil????
Oh cedar is$1.77 4/4 BF.

Some thoughts on cedar linings, which are inserted or applied _after_
finishing both sides of the walnut and allowing the odor to dissipate.
Even kiln dried and resin set boards are likely to bleed a bit, given the
amount of resin available. Leaves you the option of finishing the inside
of the lining with shellac to keep stuff from getting sticky and letting
the odor come from the back, or my preferred, a sachet or two for odor,
easily renewable. No sense hiding walnut, even on the inside.

Looks great Problem though....Now I want to dovetail the corners. Had planed
on using biscuits.
"Swingman" wrote in message
...
"Lee" wrote in message

I am not going to stain just using tung oil????

Good man ... like cherry, it should be a sin to stain walnut.

Here's one made with both walnut and cherry, unstained, that just had its
third coat of oil/varnish finish applied at lunchtime today (1/2/07):

http://www.e-woodshop.net/images/HC19.jpg

The finish is being applied indoors in my much warmer office due to a
deadline and the weather (high 30's in the shop at night the past few
days).

A couple more coats of oil/varnish, followed by three more coats of
oil/wax
should do it.

.... and I kinda like the smell of the finish permeating the office.

--
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Last update: 12/25/06

"Lee" wrote in message
Looks great Problem though....Now I want to dovetail the corners. Had
planed
on using biscuits.

Well, dovetails are indeed even more striking in "oiled" walnut than they
are many other woods.

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Last update: 12/25/06

Swingman wrote:


.... and I kinda like the smell of the finish permeating the office.


Looks great, Swingman! And doesn't walnut smell great when you cut it,
too? :-)

Lee, if you decide to do dovetails, better get a lot of practice on
cheap wood first!

"Charlie M. 1958" wrote in message
Swingman wrote:


.... and I kinda like the smell of the finish permeating the office.


Looks great, Swingman! And doesn't walnut smell great when you cut it,
too? :-)

Thanks ...

Yeah, another person with a highly developed sniffer? Both cherry and walnut
smell wonderful to me when being sawed!

Being somewhat color challenged, other senses, like smell, seem to
compensate to the point that I can tell what kind of wood was delivered to a
job site that afternoon just by walking by in the dark, or what the trim
guys are cutting up on the second floor.

But, apparently like clashing colors, it can cut both ways ... a 70's German
dance hall, in the dead of winter, comes immediately to mind ... wheeeww!


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Never did them and I don't think I'll start now. Later on something that I
can heat the shop with if it turns out real bad.
"Charlie M. 1958" wrote in message
...
Swingman wrote:


.... and I kinda like the smell of the finish permeating the office.


Looks great, Swingman! And doesn't walnut smell great when you cut it,
too? :-)

Lee, if you decide to do dovetails, better get a lot of practice on cheap
wood first!

I love to work with walnut, it's easy to work, and smoothes up great

If you can find some with good contrast between heart and sapwood, usually
available only in air dried stuff you can do stunning things.

I found that turned walnut projects seem to benefit from a first coat of
walnut stained oil (Watco) to bring out more color.

Try a sample and see.

Negatives--- walnut can be irritating, avoid its dust. Its sawdust kills
plants, don't use it for mulch on anything you want to live.

Old Guy


"Lee" wrote in message
. ..
All set to start building a hope chest. No ply all lumber. Top,
sides,front, back,bottom boards joined.Line with aromatic cedar.
I would appreciate comments from people who have used walnut.
I can purchase kiln dried 4/4 2 sides surfaced for $4.16 B.F.( central Wi)
Any comments as to pluses or negatives?
I am not going to stain just using tung oil????
Oh cedar is$1.77 4/4 BF.

George wrote:

Some thoughts on cedar linings, which are inserted or applied _after_
finishing both sides of the walnut and allowing the odor to
dissipate.

snip

You can use the drop offs from a cedar closet lining kit to cover the
bottom of a drawer.

Lay drop offs in loose, but with T/G engaged, so that at a future time
they can be removed and lightly sanded to release more aroma, then
reinserted.

Lew

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message

You can use the drop offs from a cedar closet lining kit to cover the
bottom of a drawer.

Lay drop offs in loose, but with T/G engaged, so that at a future time
they can be removed and lightly sanded to release more aroma, then
reinserted.

SWMBO grabs any of my aromatic cedar cutoffs for this very purpose. AAMOF,
if I don't save them for her, it's big trouble.

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Lee wrote:

Never did them and I don't think I'll start now. Later on something
that I
can heat the shop with if it turns out real bad.

Cutting dovetails is NBD, if you are patient and keep your wits about you.

The biggest part of the task is twofold:

1) Making sure the jig is set up properly.

Lots of scrap pieces of wood to make test cuts are a must.

When you get the jig adjusted, make a sample set for each corner that
is clearly marked with a felt pen. I use a lot of 1/2" Birch ply scrap
for this task.

2) Making sure the parts to be cut are positioned in the jig correctly.

3) Reread the instructions before every cut to confirm, before cutting.

Just went thru the above to cut 36 dovetailed corners for a current
project.

Not difficult, just demanding that you do it right.

It is strictly a plan "A" job, there is no plan "B".

Lew

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message

Just went thru the above to cut 36 dovetailed corners for a current
project.

Not difficult, just demanding that you do it right.

It is strictly a plan "A" job, there is no plan "B".

No sh*t! ... Plan B immediately invokes the much dreaded question: "What's
in your wallet?"

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My vote is with George.The walnut interior will look nicer than cedar.
I have a cedar closet and if left alone it will loose its scent and
need to be sanded to be used for moth protection. I made a Cherry/ Tung
oil handcut dovetailed hope chest and used plywood for the floor. I may
add a cedar floor but not the walls.

Swingman wrote:

No sh*t! ... Plan B immediately invokes the much dreaded question:
"What's
in your wallet?"


Now that you mention it, believe it or not, I screwed up the dovetail
on a drawer front: however, all was not lost since the screw up would
be hidden when properly assembled.

Epoxy to the rescue.

Mixed up some fairing putty and plugged the screw up proud, then let
it cure for a week.

Sanded down, recut dovetail properly, then assembled with epoxy.

Worked like a charm. Nothing visible.

Even a blind hog will find an acorn once and awhile, if he keeps
rooting around long enough.

Lew

Learn to hand cut the dovetails and you wont need a jig, just a sharp
sharp chisel.

henry wrote:
Learn to hand cut the dovetails and you wont need a jig, just a sharp
sharp chisel.


Right after I learn Morse code.

Lew

"henry" wrote in message

My vote is with George.The walnut interior will look nicer than cedar.

Tell that to the females who actually buy them ... you'll know again how it
feels when your vote don't count.

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Last update: 1/02/07

Swingman wrote:
"Lee" wrote in message

What grit paper did you use as a final sand?

Using an oil/varnish finish on walnut, run through all the grits to 320

Walnut really takes the 320 sanding well.

Lee wrote:
Never did them and I don't think I'll start now. Later on something that I
can heat the shop with if it turns out real bad.
"Charlie M. 1958" wrote in message
...
Swingman wrote:

.... and I kinda like the smell of the finish permeating the office.

Looks great, Swingman! And doesn't walnut smell great when you cut it,
too? :-)

Lee, if you decide to do dovetails, better get a lot of practice on cheap
wood first!



Lee, I guess you'll decide what you have the time and patience for.

However, my experience may be worth reading. I'm not in the same class
as the guys that are touting dovetails, but I've not let that stop me.
Dovetails were something I had admired for years and was afraid to try.
But one day I needed to build a drawer and there wasn't a joint that
would do other than a dovetail. So I got some books, and hiked over to
Lee Valley to get the right saw and a couple of saddles and set down to
do some practicing.

The first joint was pathetic, the second not much better. I think it was
the 5th that made me stop and say "holy ****, I think I'm on to
something here".

The tenth joint was the drawer. I installed it in the cabinet and was
pretty damned pleased with myself. I moved on up to dovetail bits for
the router, and I feel confident that I could make them whenever I want
to now.

That whole process took a couple of evenings. Maybe three. Looking
back, it was a lot simpler than I'd thought it would be.

Food for thought.

Tanus

--
This is not really a sig.