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Chuck Maintenance and a Finish Question

Aaron Harris

Aaron Harris

Joined
Jan 3, 2021
Messages
625
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Location
Spartanburg, SC
So I disassembled my Nova G3 chuck, as it was getting pretty grubby even though I blow it out and wipe it down after every turn. An overnight bath in mineral spirits, some vigorous tooth-brushing and all the dusty gunk, wood and finish residue are gone. I can't seem to find any info. on whether I should lube it or not? Silicone spray? Teflon powder like I use on my fly-reel, what? I can't imagine any kind of oil would help with all the dust and wood residue.

Secondly, I have finished a beautifully figured bowl out of curupau/patagonian rosewood-that's just a common name, it is not a true rosewood. Anyway, I am trying to use up a can of Formby's Tung Oil before it all dries up on me. (Sorry if you're not a Formby's fan, but I've gotten some beautiful finishes out of it, and just wanted to use it up because it's no longer available). Anyway, a couple of coats of that, and it didn't feel like this really heavy, dense wood would take up any more, so once cured, I chucked it up, abraded it with 0000 steel wool, and thought that I would try some Deft gloss spray lacquer on it (which I hear is the benchmark for spray lacquers). But despite following all the directions, I'm getting a rough, orange-peel texture? I thought that roughing it up with the wool and trying another coat would even it out, but more orange peel. I might be able to buff it smooth once cured. I guess the nuclear option would be to strip it completely and try something else. I am in the hot, humid Southeast, to complicate matters even further.

For what it's worth, I have finished many exotic, dense woods, but this one is not super oily like the true dahlbergias or ebony family, so I didn't feel like I needed to strip the surface oils with acetone.

I would appreciate any advice. TIA-Aaron
 
I have used oils, greases, specialty lubes......and, everything will eventually attract enough dust to require a disassembly/cleaning. For the past ten years, or so......I've been using nothing, and have not needed a disassembly for cleaning in this length of time.

It's our natural instinct to think a scroll chuck needs lubrication, so it goes against what one would think is common sense to go without......I've never gone this long before a good cleaning was required, and I'm using my chucks daily.

I do use a strong blast of air after each use.....

-----odie-----
 
I've never used lubrication on any of my chucks, several of which I've had for 10 or more years. If they start getting a little resistant, I give them a good dose of WD40, work them in and out several times, then wipe off the excess. That gets all the dust etc out. They then work like new.
 
Well, I was going to try Doug's paste-wax method, as I already have an ancient can of Johnson's that I use on my cast-iron surfaces, but I might just try nothing for awhile and see how it goes. I do agree that blasting them out after every use keeps things from accumulating.
 
Aaron Harris said:
Well, I was going to try Doug's paste-wax method, as I already have an ancient can of Johnson's that I use on my cast-iron surfaces, but I might just try nothing for awhile and see how it goes. I do agree that blasting them out after every use keeps things from accumulating.
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Biggest problem with nothing is rust, especially if you turn wet wood. I didn’t mention that I use a rust inibitor (Alox for cast bullets) then the paste wax, and like others blow them out frequently. I just smear some wax on, no buffing.
 
In terms of your finishing question, in my experience, orange peel means you are not spraying it correctly. Try experimenting with moving the can closer to the piece. Also, you might need a thinner or thicker coat. Too thick, of course, and you get some runs. After the finish dries, I scrape off any runs with a razor blade or a small cabinet scraper held perpendicular to the surface. I spray 3-4 coats, wet sand with 400 grit SiC paper, then more coats. After final wet sanding, Beall buffing.
This produces a high gloss gallery quality finish. But in many cases I have switched to Osmo Polyx as my finish of choice. The archives has several discussions of using Osmo.
 
I am using the gloss version. 2 coats, wait a week, then buffing with Vonax ( or white diamond). It is high gloss but without the thick film of lacquer or oil base poly. The lack of a thick film is similar to straight walnut oil or danish oil followed by buffing. But slightly higher gloss level.
 
Aaron, the Formby's Tung Oil was a blend of ingredients. If you liked it, you might find that Minwax Antique Oil or Minwax Tung Oil, which are also blends, may give you similar results. I suspect that among the blended finishes, a Danish Oil would be the top recommendation among forum members, though.
 
Dean Center said:
Aaron, the Formby's Tung Oil was a blend of ingredients. If you liked it, you might find that Minwax Antique Oil or Minwax Tung Oil, which are also blends, may give you similar results. I suspect that among the blended finishes, a Danish Oil would be the top recommendation among forum members, though.
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Yup. I believe Formby's sold out to Miniwax, the miniwax tung oil is almost (not quite) the same formula as Formby's Myself, I prefer Tried & True brand I use Original (Polymerized linseed & beeswax) mostly , and very happy with results.
 
Michael Nathal said:
I am using the gloss version. 2 coats, wait a week, then buffing with Vonax ( or white diamond). It is high gloss but without the thick film of lacquer or oil base poly. The lack of a thick film is similar to straight walnut oil or danish oil followed by buffing. But slightly higher gloss level.
Click to expand...

Follow up question, how glossy is it before the Vonax (which I assume is mechanical buffing). Many pieces I make are not amenable to mechanical buffing.

I have been using and really like the Polyx satin. Gloss might be interesting to try, especially if it doesn't have a thick film.
 
Mark Jundanian said:
Follow up question, how glossy is it before the Vonax (which I assume is mechanical buffing). Many pieces I make are not amenable to mechanical buffing.

I have been using and really like the Polyx satin. Gloss might be interesting to try, especially if it doesn't have a thick film.
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yes, it is glossy prior to buffing. Buffing with 4 -8 inch diameter wheels tends to clean up any non-uniformities, streaks, etc left behind on the last coat. I would say that the benefits of buffing are most noticeable on large smooth surfaces like bowls, hollow forms, etc. I have occasionally used small felt pads on a Dremel to buff into hard to reach areas. I would expect that you could achieve an acceptable surface by wiping on, let it sit for a few minutes, and wiping off any excess. You would need to experiment with how much to wipe off, ranging from light wiping to more of a scrubbing.
 
Michael Nathal said:
Also, Aaron Harris, not sure you need lacquer at all. I would try Beall buffing directly after the Formby's (wait a week or two to allow it to cure). Most of the time I use all three wheels
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Thanks, Michael-I don't plan to spray the lacquer on top of the Formby's. I just wiped on thinned coats of the Formby's after I cut the unappealing laquer coats back with 0000 steel wool on the lathe. I don't have the Beall system, but I have buffed with a linen wheel loaded with Fabuluster when I want a gloss finish. I may get the Beall 3-wheel progression at some point.
 
Dean Center said:
Aaron, the Formby's Tung Oil was a blend of ingredients. If you liked it, you might find that Minwax Antique Oil or Minwax Tung Oil, which are also blends, may give you similar results. I suspect that among the blended finishes, a Danish Oil would be the top recommendation among forum members, though.
Click to expand...
Dean (and Brian)-I think my thing for Formby's is mostly a nostalgia thing. It's what I learned to do hand-rubbed finishes with, and the mystique only increased when it was no longer available, and I had half a can trying to dry up on me. I know that it is essentially a wiping varnish very similar to others in the same family. I have thought about picking up a quart of Danish oil-I am almost certain that I would like it.
 
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