Approaching the finish

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Chris Hall
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Approaching the finish

Tue Mar 27, 2012 5:23 pm

I am not among those woodworkers who are extremely knowledgeable about finishes. I've never used stain, and I don't spray pre-cat lacquer or anything like that. All i usually do is rub polymerized Tung Oil into the wood, or if I want to build up more of a protective coating, then I opt for Waterlox, which is Tung oil based wiping varnish. For this toolbox I'm going with the polymerized Tung Oil. If you're making your toolbox out of a softwood, then the final finish only needs to be hand planed. A lot of the darker hardwoods look much better with a coat of oil on them however.

Once the box is assembled together and the tenons trimmed flush, the next step is to give the box exterior a final planing. Of course, since the end boards of the carcase are recessed, they must be finish planed before assembly. The long sides of the box however, can be planed, and the face of the end handles can be cleaned down to meet the end grain of the long sides of the box. Once all that is done, I chamfer the outer edge of the long board, using a 1/8" roundover bit with my router. Most often i chamfer with a chamfer plane, but with the jogs here and there in the long side boards, it makes more sense to rout the chamfer.

With that done, I rub the box down with 400 grit lubed paper and apply a coat of oil:
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On coat of oil turns a drab brown material (the Khaya Mahogany) into something much more interesting looking.

A view of the box after one round of oil:
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I plan on 5~7 coats of oil, applied one coat per day.

Another view:
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And some detail views of the complete wedged tenons with the oil bringing everything into sharper focus:
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A couple of the wedged tenons on the cap:
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I'll keep moving the oiling along and will post up another round of pics when everything is complete. How's your box coming along?
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Yxoc
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Re: Approaching the finish

Tue Mar 27, 2012 6:17 pm

This toolbox is looking great Chris, I'm more than a little bit disappointed I haven't been able to join - Hopefully it's something I'll catch up with later.

Regards

Derek
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charlie
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Re: Approaching the finish

Tue Mar 27, 2012 7:40 pm

"How's your box coming along?"

Swimmingly.
Will post more photos when I can.
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Chris Hall
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Re: Approaching the finish

Tue Mar 27, 2012 7:44 pm

Good job! Nice to see.

Swimmingly - beats drowning for sure.

I'd love to see more pictures!
Jack_Ervin.
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Re: Approaching the finish

Tue Mar 27, 2012 8:24 pm

Chris and all,

The work on the tool box is well received here and I will be getting back to mine when I return home. Charlie good to see every ones progress as this has helped me to make my own progress.

Just to let you all know what is going on here, my wife and I are on a driving trip to east Texas. We started Saturday and plan to be back home by the weekend. Our first stop was at the Ft. Worth Botanical Garden which is on approximately 9 acres and includes a Japanese Garden as a separate feature. I had hopes when we were planning to stop here that the structures would be of authentic Japanese Carpentry but that was not to be. The entrance gate and structures inside were only cosmetically depicting Japanese architecture. I have taken photos which I will share some when I get back home to my laptop to be able to reduce the size To be able to post. The garden features were very well maintained.



Regards,

Jack
djwong
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Re: Approaching the finish

Mon Apr 09, 2012 7:50 pm

Just moments ago, managed to fit my toolbox together, so I thought I would post a picture. Still lots of fitting left to do, along with wedging the tenons, working on the top, and tackling the hell tenons. This project is the first real thing with joinery that I have built, and it has been challenging. Made lots of mistakes, and I am sure I will make plenty more. The fir I used is quite soft, so some of the corners and surfaces are pretty beaten up already. The handles (as well as the top) are claro walnut. Really nice material to work with.

David

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Chris Hall
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Re: Approaching the finish

Mon Apr 09, 2012 8:27 pm

That's purty! Great job!

Working with softwoods is a challenge in finer pieces, in just trying to keep from marring the surfaces.

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