1945 Red Mallee Burl.

Looks like 1945 was a good year for turning that Mallee bowl. Just kidding..

Thar bowl has a really nice finish as you always do. Nice job!

Karl Loeblein said:

Looks like 1945 was a good year for turning that Mallee bowl. Just kidding..

Thar bowl has a really nice finish as you always do. Nice job!

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Thanks Karl....

The Danish oil is about as simple as you can get......so, in this case.....is it not true that the quality of the finish has something to do with the fineness of the sanding that was done?

It's true that some woods are more conducive to a finer finish than others, but I question why so many turners don't sand to a minimum of 600gt. The finer grits are the easiest to perform......and, it's the starting grit, whether it's 120, 150, 180, 220, or 320.....the starting grit is always the most difficult grit because you're removing imperfections, and not just improving the level of surface fineness.

Each species, and even each individual piece of wood are different, and it's a general rule that the finer grits have diminishing returns as you progress to the finer grits. As long as each grit has improved the surface, why stop with 220, 320, or even 400?

For me, I find that 600gt is a good personal standard, even though some woods don't really improve much, or at all, at this stage.

-----odie-----

The reason I don’t go to 600 grit when doing oil finishes is I’ve found from research and personal experience after 220 grit you are polishing and sealing the fibres in the wood, this stops oil finishes from absorbing into the wood. I know some finish will always go into wood but when you get into 600 not much absorbs into wood. This , I find , is not beneficial when it is a utilitarian piece as there is little finish of any depth in wood and shortly after using it needs more finish to get it back to what it looked like in the beginning. This is just from my many years as a professional painter and field experienced. I have even had film finishes not adhere properly when the finish is sanded to 1,200 grit. Piece is like glass and nothing for finish to grab to. But I have found that if it is sanded to 600 plus. A lengthy dip or vacuum helps get oil finish in deeper.

but Odie that piece is beautiful. I love Malle, the grain is mind blowing awesome.

Glenn Lefley said:

The reason I don’t go to 600 grit when doing oil finishes is I’ve found from research and personal experience after 220 grit you are polishing and sealing the fibres in the wood, this stops oil finishes from absorbing into the wood. I know some finish will always go into wood but when you get into 600 not much absorbs into wood. This , I find , is not beneficial when it is a utilitarian piece as there is little finish of any depth in wood and shortly after using it needs more finish to get it back to what it looked like in the beginning. This is just from my many years as a professional painter and field experienced. I have even had film finishes not adhere properly when the finish is sanded to 1,200 grit. Piece is like glass and nothing for finish to grab to. But I have found that if it is sanded to 600 plus. A lengthy dip or vacuum helps get oil finish in deeper.

but Odie that piece is beautiful. I love Malle, the grain is mind blowing awesome.

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Thank you, Glenn.....

Hmmmm......Interesting take here, Glenn. I believe I'll continue to do what has always worked for me, for the reasons I mentioned above. Personally, I'm not seeing penetration as a problem when applying D.O over a 600gt sanded surface......as you can see the indications of it soaking in during the application. As you suggest, perhaps the difference is with "utilitarian" work that will see use, and abuse, as opposed to "art" pieces that will not......and possibly access to sunlight has something to do with your assessment, as well. In any case, I'm glad to have your opinion on this...

-----odie-----

The higher temperature of the oil and woodturning can make a big difference to absortion rate due to lowering the oils viscosityy. Much like the different centipoise ratings for various thicknesses of CA glues affect the absortion rate. Just wondering if heating the oil and woodturning might overcome the Glenn's 600 grit troubles?

I know heat can help my turnings absorb walnut oil. Easy to do on a warm sunny day when I can put my turning outside. On cold days I prefer using my wife's blow dryer or our toaster oven that supports a low temperature than some ovens. Just don't her.