About 15 years ago a friend traveled in the U.S. Southwest and brought me a piece of what he called "desert ironwood". The wood is VERY hard and is quite dark in color. I want to make some small items (pens, letter openers, toothpick holders, etc.) and would like information about a suitable finish. Would sanding sealer, lacquer and wax be appropriate for this wood?
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Finish for Ironwood
- Thread starter Dave Rohde
- Start date
Ironwood finish
Dave,
I use desert ironwood as an accent collar on some of my hollow vessels. I finish lacquer and wax for the smaller pieces. For spheres and hollow vessels I use danish oil. It will take a couple of days for the oil to start to set up. Keep rubbing it down with a dry cloth and put a couple more coats on in the next week or so. Let it dry for another week, then buff it out. The finer you sand ironwood, the better the finish. I usually sand to 2000 grit. Let me know how it works out.
Paul
Dave,
I use desert ironwood as an accent collar on some of my hollow vessels. I finish lacquer and wax for the smaller pieces. For spheres and hollow vessels I use danish oil. It will take a couple of days for the oil to start to set up. Keep rubbing it down with a dry cloth and put a couple more coats on in the next week or so. Let it dry for another week, then buff it out. The finer you sand ironwood, the better the finish. I usually sand to 2000 grit. Let me know how it works out.
Paul
Dave,
The several coats of danish, euythane, or tung oil followed by buffing and wax are a great method, especially for hard, dark woods. For very small items, you can also do a CA finish (look around at threads for pen turning).
Paul,
I'm actually commenting on your tag line. Haven't you heard of electric chainsaws and really long extension cords? Rough up the stump a bit afterwords and tell em the neighborhood had beavers. Works for me.
Dietrich
The several coats of danish, euythane, or tung oil followed by buffing and wax are a great method, especially for hard, dark woods. For very small items, you can also do a CA finish (look around at threads for pen turning).
Paul,
I'm actually commenting on your tag line. Haven't you heard of electric chainsaws and really long extension cords? Rough up the stump a bit afterwords and tell em the neighborhood had beavers. Works for me.
Dietrich
Electric chainsaw, hmmmm!
All I've ever used is some sort of oil followed by a good buff with the Beall system. Got a excellent finish on my small stuff that way.
Joe
Joe