Approaching the finish
Posted: 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:
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:
I plan on 5~7 coats of oil, applied one coat per day.
Another view:
And some detail views of the complete wedged tenons with the oil bringing everything into sharper focus:
A couple of the wedged tenons on the cap:
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?
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:
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:
I plan on 5~7 coats of oil, applied one coat per day.
Another view:
And some detail views of the complete wedged tenons with the oil bringing everything into sharper focus:
A couple of the wedged tenons on the cap:
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?