high gloss

4”h x 3.5”ø I attempted to fill a couple of large bug holes in this form, but when the compound dried, the color was way off and a little distracting. Decided to turn this situation into a “design opportunity” and brushed on several coats of black milk paint. Considered sanding it smooth, but I...

3.5”h x 3”ø This is half of one of the nicest pieces of red maple burl I’ve come across. Went super high-gloss to bring out the chatoyance and emphasize the variations in figure and color. Going to take a little break from maple in favor of some cherry and walnut, but looking forward to turning...

3.5” x 3.5” Most of the maple I turn is of the soft varieties, but I think this is sugar maple (please correct me if not!). Hauled a bunch home last year and it’s taken on a beautiful spalt. I really love the gray tones and the thin arc of spalting across the shoulder of this piece.

Masur birch 3.5”d x 3”h Did most of the shaping with a 1/2” bowl gouge and used a set of 3/8” Hollow Pro rocket tools for hollowing. Finished with blonde shellac and buffed on a wheel.

4”h x 3.5”d Made this piece for a talk I'm giving about design and woodturning at YouTube's annual design conference in August. Kept it simple; classic form, walls turned to about 1/4", and finished with shellac.

5”d x 3”h; shellac and buffed

5.5” x 5.5”; finished with shellac, abrasive paste, and buffed with brown Tripoli. I have a handful of these 6” cubic blanks of claro, so am going to do a series of these hollow forms. Each will be slightly different, but recognizable as part of the same series. I wanted this one to have a more...

4.5” x 3.5” Couldn’t pass up this little chunk of box elder burl when I was at Craft Supplies last September. Finally got around to putting it on the lathe last week. Turned it to ~3/16” thickness and applied my go-to shellac finish.

4” x 3” Hollowed to about 3/16” thickness and sanded to 600. Applied a total of nine coats of shellac and buffed with white diamond.

3.5” x 3.5”; finished with shellac, buffed with brown tripoli and white diamond. When I milled this maple last summer, I saw glimpses of the spalting, but I wasn’t expecting this much color variation. The prominent grays in this piece give it a California buckeye feel, IMO. Was worried it...

5” x 5” hollow form turned from Claro walnut. Finished with several coats of shellac and buffed with white diamond compound. March 2024.

If you have ever seen the vases made by Steve Sinner, you know his high gloss finishes are absolutely perfect. I found his video that goes into great detail explaining all of the "how and why" details of his process. I found his finishing video very enlightening and think it is worth sharing...

I'm looking for a high gloss finish that is good and safe for children's toys. Any suggestions?