Popular Woodworking 2003-08 № 135, страница 16

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edge where you cannot feel the wire edge, you need to go back to a coarser grit and sharpen some more. Basically, wire edges are your friend until you get to the final grit, when you hone them off.

As to your 4,000-grit stone, it will do fine until you can afford an 8,000-grit stone. Do save your pennies, because the 8,000 is worth it. It takes the tool to another level of sharpness that you can feel and see.

If you can't afford the 8,000, you might want to buy a few sheets of the really fine wet/dry sandpaper (1,500 grit) and a flat piece of glass to take your edges up to that level. It's cheaper in the short run and does a good job.

— Christopher Schwarz

What Products Bleach Out the Grain?

Is there a safe wood bleach out there that doesn't require you to wash down your entire project with great amounts of water? If not, what besides what you would call bleach can "lighten" wood grain?

Sam McRae via the Internet

There are three types of wood bleach. Two-part bleach (made of sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide), oxalic acid and sodium hyper-chlorite bleaches (clothes bleach).

Two-part bleach is the only bleach that will lighten wood significantly. Oxalic acid will lighten wood if it has aged and darkened, but it won't lighten the wood beyond what it was originally. Clothing bleaches will remove dye, but they won't lighten the wood.

You want to bleach wood to a lighter color than it is originally, so a two-part bleach is what you should use. It leaves the wood somewhat alkaline, which is why washing is suggested - to neutralize the wood. A much faster way than washing many times is to wash once with an acid such as vinegar. Use a white vinegar so that it doesn't color the wood, and you can reduce it by half with water if you want. Wash liberally and then rinse with water and dry off. You won't reach full neutrality, but the wash will bring it close enough so you won't have any problems.

The reason for the neutralization doesn't have anything to do with the bonding of the finish to the wood (as long as you don't use a catalyzed finish that uses an acid catalyst). It has to do with preventing excessive damage if water gets through your finish and into the wood. If the wood is very alkaline, the water will ac

tivate it and cause the finish to blister everywhere the water gets in. The finish will "strip," in other words.

— Bob Flexner, contributing editor

What to do with Walnut Sawdust

I have a request. Could you please do an article on what to do with sawdust? I work mostly with ash and black walnut and have learned the hard way that black walnut sawdust is not a viable substitute for wood chips around trees. If you could make some suggestions as to possible uses or good ways to dispose of the stuff, I would be grateful.

Sue Nelson Pierce, Colorado

You are correct that black walnut is not good for plant bedding or animal bedding. It contains chemicals that are a natural herbicide (called ju-glone), and it is toxic to horses. Contact with walnut or butternut shavings causes laminitis (also called founder) within 24 hours of being placed on bedding. Laminitis restricts the flow of blood to horses' feet. And in humans, we're told that a little black walnut can be a mild laxative (that's why you don't often see wooden cooking spoons made using the stuff).

Sawdust from other species can be used in the garden after it has decomposed. Otherwise it will pull out the naturally occurring nitrogen in the soil, which is important for healthy plants.

I wish I had a better solution for you but we throw our black walnut sawdust into the garbage. We do take some small solace from the fact that it will decompose a lot faster than the Styrofoam cups and hot dogs in the landfill. PW

HAVE A QUESTION?

Every day we get questions from readers on all woodworking subjects. Some are letters; many are e-mail messages.We are happy to share our woodworking experience by answering questions or adding clarity to aspects of your craft you are unsure about. In addition to the hundreds we answer privately, we want to share the best questions here with readers.

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Popular Woodworking August 2003