Refinishing Complete: Friday Update
Some of you might have noticed I did not have a Friday update last week, that’s because I was on vacation in Lake Tahoe for the week. Despite the the remnants of a hurricane dampening a couple of days we still had an incredible time hanging at the beach and paddle boarding.
But now I’m back and that means work ensues.
Refinishing Shellacked Tables
The first focus was to finish the refinishing job I started before I left. I mentioned these tables were finished with shellac, a traditional finish. I opted to repair rather than strip the finish, as shellac is self wetting meaning a new layer will adhere to the previous, regardless of age.
I started by cleaning the tables with a little alcohol and steel wool to pull off any dirt and grime. From there, I applied a heavy layer of shellac with a rubber, which is simply a linen cloth filled with cotton. The cotton holds shellac and the linen holds the cotton. Linen doesn’t leave fibers behind so that’s why it’s a great option for the outside layer.
Then I polished and polished and polished with that rubber to smooth and make the shellac shine.
A traditional French polish is done with shellac and a rubber, but I got tired of all the polishing and opted to end with some steel wool to even out the surface and wrap the tables up. I was going to make a video of the French polishing process, but decided since this was my first time I wasn’t ready to teach it, so maybe in the future I’ll do a “class” on the topic, including a written article on the matter.
Oh, and the other part of this job was the chair, which I glued back together and buffed with steel wool to remove old dings and marks. The chair and tables will be delivered this weekend.
Speaking of deliveries, now that I’m back I’m delivering the slab dining table on Saturday. It’ll be good to free up floor space in the garage!
A Stool, Maybe
In my last update I mentioned I was starting a stool. I started it, but am at a technical point which I was scared to start. I want the legs to have a lean and splay, meaning they will attach to the top at a compound angle. That means I need to come up with a jig that will cut compound angled mortises in a consistent way, and my vacation brain wasn’t ready to tackle that problem.
So I got distracted by a pretty piece of wood and decided I needed another charcuterie board.
Do I actually I need another charcuterie board? No. Should I have been working on something else? Yes. But hey, it’s my time and I wanted to use this board before I forgot about it.
See, this board was meant for the slab dining table base, but I set it aside once I discovered the grain. It was already milled and ready to go. I didn’t want to leave it unsupported for too long as it could warp.
Justified with some false urgency, I got to work cutting, sanding, and finishing. A simple project done it two days ready for glamour shots and a new video, all coming soon.