Hi,

I run the woodworking blog "Let's Talk Wood" which covers a variety of
woodworking topics. Recently, I received a request from a reader,
asking about Watco Danish Oil, which I frequently have discussed on
the blog.

So I made a video and uploaded it onto the blog.

If anyone has been wondering about how to use Watco, it might be
helpful to you. It seems there is a lot of confusion about how to
apply it. My main reason for using it is that it's pretty "goof
proof", which is exactly what I need!

Jamie Y
www.wooditis.blogspot.com
Las Vegas, NV

" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I run the woodworking blog "Let's Talk Wood" which covers a variety of
woodworking topics. Recently, I received a request from a reader,
asking about Watco Danish Oil, which I frequently have discussed on
the blog.

So I made a video and uploaded it onto the blog.

If anyone has been wondering about how to use Watco, it might be
helpful to you. It seems there is a lot of confusion about how to
apply it. My main reason for using it is that it's pretty "goof
proof", which is exactly what I need!

Jamie Y
www.wooditis.blogspot.com
Las Vegas, NV

I prefer Deft Danish Oil. I has more varnish in it.

On May 27, 7:17*pm, "Lowell Holmes" wrote:
" wrote in message

...





Hi,

I run the woodworking blog "Let's Talk Wood" which covers a variety of
woodworking topics. Recently, I received a request from a reader,
asking about Watco Danish Oil, which I frequently have discussed on
the blog.

So I made a video and uploaded it onto the blog.

If anyone has been wondering about how to use Watco, it might be
helpful to you. It seems there is a lot of confusion about how to
apply it. My main reason for using it is that it's pretty "goof
proof", which is exactly what I need! *

Jamie Y
www.wooditis.blogspot.com
Las Vegas, NV

I prefer Deft Danish Oil. I has more varnish in it.

I thought Waterlox had more of the good stuff in it too.

JP

On Tue, 27 May 2008 23:17:31 GMT, "Lowell Holmes"
wrote:


" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I run the woodworking blog "Let's Talk Wood" which covers a variety of
woodworking topics. Recently, I received a request from a reader,
asking about Watco Danish Oil, which I frequently have discussed on
the blog.

So I made a video and uploaded it onto the blog.

If anyone has been wondering about how to use Watco, it might be
helpful to you. It seems there is a lot of confusion about how to
apply it. My main reason for using it is that it's pretty "goof
proof", which is exactly what I need!

Jamie Y
www.wooditis.blogspot.com
Las Vegas, NV

I prefer Deft Danish Oil. I has more varnish in it.


I prefer to mix my own. It is cheaper and I can put as much varnish
in it as I want.

"ray" wrote in message
...

On Tue, 27 May 2008 23:17:31 GMT, "Lowell Holmes"
wrote:


" wrote in message
...
Hi,

snip


I prefer Deft Danish Oil. I has more varnish in it.


I prefer to mix my own. It is cheaper and I can put as much varnish
in it as I want.

The Deft is about $8 a quart the last time I bought some. I have considered
mixing my own if I can't get the Deft.
Once, I used Garret Hack's formula of 1/3 turpentine, 1/3 quick dry varnish,
1/3 blo (IIRC). I liked that as well.

I agree that Deft is a good finish because of the higher varnish
content. Waterlox is another great finish.

But that higher content makes then both a "dust magnet", which
requires a dust free environment. Either that, or you're going to be
doing a lot of sanding in between coats. And after that last coat,
you'll probably need to do an oil and pumice rub out at the end, to
eliminate any of the last dust particles that settled on the wood.

As a woodworker, having a dust free environment is quite tough. Even
with my air cleaner, dust system and daily (or weekly) sweeping, my
shop still has a dust level that would never be suitable for anything
except Watco.

Sad, but realistic.

I prefer to mix my own. It is cheaper and I can put as much varnish in
it as I want.

For those who are kinda new, elaborate on mixing your own. I for one have
no idea where to start. A little theroy would be nice too,
Thanks

There are many woodworkers out there that make their own Danish Oil.
The common recipe is 1/3 turpentine, 1/3 Boiled Linseed Oil and 1/3
varnish.

You can tweak this recipe a bit to customize it for your work. Say you
need something highly water resistant. For your one-third portion of
varnish, you could use spar varnish, which is highly water
resistant.

Some people even use slightly higher percentages of turpentine, to
thin the mix down, it will absorb and penetrate better. You could do
that on the first initial coat or two, then mix some a little thicker
for the last coat or two.

Mixing your own is good for two things - you can customize it for your
particular needs, and you can save some money. I think a quart of
Watco here in Las Vegas is around $9.50.

Jamie
www.wooditis.com

On Wed, 28 May 2008 08:23:58 +0300, "Rick Samuel"
wrote:


I prefer to mix my own. It is cheaper and I can put as much varnish in
it as I want.

For those who are kinda new, elaborate on mixing your own. I for one have
no idea where to start. A little theroy would be nice too,
Thanks


Basically it is a mixture of varnish, oil, and thinner. Varnish can
be anything from spar varnish for flexibility to polyurethane for a
harder finish. Oil is usually boiled linseed oil, tung oil, etc. The
thinner can be turpentine, colorless mineral spirits, or if thrifty
the smelly mineral spirits that Watco uses. Starting point is about
equal parts of the 3 components. For the first coat I use less
varnish for better penetration, more varnish for middle coats for
faster build, and the equal parts for the final coat because it is
less tacky than with more varnish to make a smooth finish easier to
obtain. Experiment, it is very forgiving finish.

Put the finish on, wait a while, wet sand, and wipe dry with a rag.
For wet sanding I use between 200 and 800 grit depending on the wood.
The 200 grit is useful for open pore wood if you want to fill the
pores with swarf.

I use it on most of my projects. To get an idea of what they look
like some of them are at:

http://www.olypen.com/ray/Woodwork/woodwork.html

more are at:

http://www.olypen.com/ray/Woodwork2/woodwork2.html

For the scroll saw work I use compressed air to blow the excess finish
out of the cuts that I can't dry with a rag.

Ray -

Really impressive work!

Especially love the bowls, and the gracefulness of the toys you've
built. They have a wonderful graphic quality to them.

Jamie in Vegas

On Wed, 28 May 2008 10:13:51 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

Ray -

Really impressive work!

Especially love the bowls, and the gracefulness of the toys you've
built. They have a wonderful graphic quality to them.

Jamie in Vegas

Thanks for the compliment. The bowls are interesting technique
because they are made primarily on a scroll saw. The toys are for my
grand daughter. She likes them.

Ray