Woodworker's Journal 2009-33-5, страница 31
— already you can tell this is not exacting chemistry! Stir occasionally and after a day you will have a paste. For me, the best results are achieved when it's like really soft butter. The consistency in the jar is adjusted by adding one or the other ingredient. Ian Kirby is a master woodworker and a regular contributor to Woodworker's Journal magazine. Beeswax You can buy beeswax as block or pellet and formulate your own paste, or you can buy it ready to go in a can. If the can has a list of ingredients on the label you will find it has additives of various kinds — common ones are paraffin wax and carnauba wax. The product I use is granulated pure bleached beeswax. To make the paste the granules are dissolved in pure turpentine. Into a small widemouth jar, pour about two inches of turps over half an inch of granules A variety of waxes are widely available. My preferred, and homemade, version is made from a pure bleached granulated beeswax dissolved in pure turpentine and made as soft as summer butter. Rag the shellac quickly. Cover the whole surface, then "lay it off" altogether. Don't do bits at a time. Because you are following with beeswax, a second coat is neither necessary nor desirable. workpiece. I usually do that. On large surfaces, I brush it on, then, with a loosely balled-up clean cotton rag, wipe it into the wood and wipe if off. You don't need a second coat. If the work surface was prepared by sanding, the shellac will "raise the grain." Sanding grinds the surface and the liquid swells the torn tissue raising "nibs." You "de-nib" it or smooth it again very easily by sanding with thoroughly used fine sandpaper. Hold the paper between fingers, not round a block. Either way, it will get clogged with shellac. Paper round a block will pick up patches and ride on them. If the surface was prepared straight from a plane, there will be very little "de-nibbing" Lo do. Simply sand the surface smooth. Laying on a second coat doesn't help at all, and it gets messy because you will immediately dissolve the first coat. Application The wax is applied using a cotton rag. A sparing — amount rubbed in circles achieves crossgrain and cross area application. Finish by working with the grain. Each successive application will deepen the tone and texture of the surface, but it is best done using a working minimum of wax. After an hour or so, if you buff the surface with a clean, soft cloth you will see the extent of your effort as a luster with some reflection. Apply a thin film of wax in a circular motion. Polish it off with the grain. This finish has many advantages, not the least of which is the "smooth as silk" feel. It is also quite easy to touch up and repair. Mixes Beeswax made in this way can also be mixed with finishing oils. However, there are so many different formulations of proprietary oils — and variations in beeswax — that attempting to offer a recipe is futile. You simply have to give it a try. A mix I made using General Finishes' Salad Bowl Finish was one that I found very successful. It gave a hard lustrous result and held up very well. Unfortunately, after a few days, even in an airtight can, it skinned over, then after a few more days went into a solid, unusable mass — but it retained the myth, the mystery and the magic of finishing. J Woodworker's Journal October 2009 1 9 |
