Creative Woodworks & crafts 2005-01, страница 43

pieces of wood and then b ew out the crack with my air compressor to make sure there was no sawdust or dirt to contaminate the repair. The actual repair was done using 15-minute epoxy. Since this usually does not dry clear and I wanted to hide the repair, I mixed some dark redwood sanding dust with it, I then used a couple of pieces of thin veneer to get the epoxy into the crack from both sides, making sure I had complete coverage and a little overflow. The joint was then held closed with the help of a couple of spring clamps to assure that it remained tight. I let the epoxy cure overnight and used my ROS (starting with 100-grit paper) to smooth the joint. I finished the complete piece of slab with 32G grit In preparation of my primary finish. In retrospect, I should have used a black epoxy for the fill, as the fill still turned out a bit lighter than I would have liked.

Pre-finishing the slab

If you have never worked with old-growth redwood, you are in for a finishing "treat." THINK SPONGE!!! Those who have read my Smallmouth Bass article (March ^:04 Creative Woodworks & Crafts, Issue No. 98) know that I am somewhat obsessive about the finishes on my projects. I wanted to really blow up the grain in this gorgeous piece of wood and decided to use my standard system of BLO/mineral spirit mix followed by lacguer sanding sealer and gloss lacquer. This finish has worked very well for me on previous projects (see my Smallmouth Bass article in the aforementioned magazine). I usually just wipe on the BLO mix, let it sit for about thirty minutes, and wipe off the excess before letting it totally dry for a couple of days. Imagine my surprise when the BLO just kept disappearing into this wood; this slab soaked up the BLO like a dry sponge!

I ended up soaking the slab in an aluminum tray filled with BLO for thirty minutes and then taking it out and wiping off the excess. I then continued to wipe off any BLO that wept from the pores for about the next two hours. After letting the slab dry for about a. week, I was ready to proceed with my preliminary finish. If you have read my Smallmouth Bass article, you know that I like to pre-finish a piece of wood before cutting it. I find that in the long run it saves me a lot of time and I eliminate the possibility of maybe breaking off small pieces of the cutting. I will give you the basics of my pre-finish technigue since it is detailed in my previous article.

After the BLO is dry, I apply two light coats of lacquer sanding sealer and then lightly sand with 320-grit paper. This is usually followed by two to three coats of gloss lacquer. However, in this case I was in for yet another redwood "surprise." Even after soaking in the BLO and applying two coats of sanding sealer, the slab wanted to just soak up the lacquer. Because the slab has such amazing grain, parts of the wood are harder and denser than others: the less dense areas soaked up the lacquer, leaving the harder areas with a nice coating. I ended up applying seven coats of lacguer (lightly sanding smooth every other coat) before the less dense areas no longer soaked up the finish. Even with the sanding, if you look closely you can see a slight ripple effect between the hard areas and soft areas of the slab. Considering the pattern and the grain, though, this slight ripple is a pleasing effect. (I just hope the judges at a contest also like it.) One little word of

wisdom: make sure that you also finish the back of the slab. This will eliminate any wood movement that could cup or twist the wood. A couple of coats of lacguer is sufficient. All you are looking for is to seal the wood.

After the front is pre-finished, I allow the lacquer to cure for at least a week. With this particular slab, the curing was very important because of the amount of lacquer I needed to pre-finish the front. If you do not allow the lacquer to cure, it will most likely fuzz and curl as you cut it because it has not sufficiently hardened all the way through. This makes the final finish that more difficult to execute. Now I realize that all this might sound a bit excessive, but when you find that really outstanding piece of wood, you owe it to yourself to really do it justice.

Applying the pattern and cutting the project

At this point, I am ready to put on masking tape, glue the pattern to the tape, and drill the holes. Instead of my normal "el cheapo'¹ masking tape, I decided to try the blue masking tape used by painters as I heard that it leaves absolutely no residue. This turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made. After cutting the pattern, I found out that the rape was stuck fast to the wood. I needed a magnifying glass fo read the fine print on the tape to see that this kind of tape is not to be used on lacquer finishes. After a long session with a heat lamp, I finally got the tape off the wood. I then spent an additional six hours using a glue remover and mineral spirits to get all the residue off the wood. I was not a happy camper. It just goes to show that even us old dogs need lessons now and again. Read all directions and precautions when using a new material. It will save you a load of heartache.

With the wood finally cleaned of glue residue, I wet sanded with 600 grit to smooth the surface, let the piece dry for a day, and applied two more coats of lacquer. After the lacquer had cured for a couple of days, I then wet sanded with MicroMesh on a hard foam block, starting at 1800 grit and ending with 4000 grit. This gave the piece a real nice smooth and glassy finish. The backing is a piece of acid-free artist's paper glued in place. Be careful when applying the glue so that none sgueezes into the cuts.

This pattern is not as hard as it looks. It only has about 150 blade changes and none of the cuts are particularly difficult. Remember that the pattern is just a starting point for your finished work. You can make little changes here and there to accommodate the particular piece of slab that you are using.

On this piece I used a new blade that Flying Dutchman is selling—a round spiral No. 3 blade. Unlike most spirals, if is not a twisted blade, but rather made from a solid round piece of stock. I found that it cut smoother and lasted longer than any other spiral blade I had ever used. There were virtually no fuzzies on the back of the piece to sand, fact, finish sanding was accomplished with 220-grit iper. I was highly impressed with this new blade. I hope you enjoy cutting this piece and let us see your ished project. And remember the primary rule of scrolling: RELAX AND HAVE FUN!!

For questions concerning this project, send an SASE fo: Thomas J. Multane Jr., 20781 Millers Church Road, Hagersfown, MD 21742. ^

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48 • Creative Woodworks S. Crafts January 2005