Hi

How are you? There’s so many coughs and colds and everything else going around at the moment, I hope you’ve managed to avoid them! And if not, then I hope you’re recovering!
We’ll be getting ready for the Midlands Woodworking Show soon, which is finally making a return after a couple of years. If you’re coming along, do come and say hello. Maybe we’ll do a fun giveaway for Chestnuteers… watch this space!

We were asked a week or so ago about whether it is possible to mix our various oils. In this case it was to get the finish and protection of Hard Wax Oil, but with a lemon aroma, by mixing it with Lemon Oil. Personally, I think that Hard Wax Oil has a nice smell already, but I know that not everyone will agree. The answer to the question, though, is that we don’t advise it. Although most of the oils in our range share a common solvent base (white spirit), this doesn’t mean they will intermix. The oils won’t always disperse together, leading to a lumpy, unusable liquid.

Another email led to two questions, almost inadvertently. The sender had been using his preferred combination of sealer and WoodWax 22 on some walnut and sapele and was finding that he was getting white flecks in the grain – something that isn’t normally a problem on lighter coloured timber. We weren’t asked why this was happening, but we supplied this information anyway. Always useful for future reference! These white flecks are normally caused by a build-up of wax getting stuck in the pores of the timber. This can usually be avoided by using a brush to buff the wax, and doing so quickly after application, before the wax has had chance to set too hard. The other alternative is to use our Medium Brown WoodWax 22. This is a very light brown colour, so any excess left behind doesn’t dry white, and is therefore usually hidden in the grain.

My emailer was wondering about using Hard Wax Oil instead of sealer and wax, and this would be a suitable alternative for the product they were making. Is it, they asked, possible to wet sand with the Hard Wax Oil? The answer here is ‘yes’. Any of our oils (and, indeed, the waxes) can be used for wet sanding. Doing so dramatically reduces the amount of sanding dust in the workshop, and gives an incredibly smooth surface by supplying extra lubrication for the abrasive. The oils and waxes work for this as they are relatively slow drying, but sealers and lacquers aren’t suitable as, if anything, the sanding action will accelerate the drying time, and you could end up with the abrasive sheet stuck to the timber!

We’re finally about ready to release details of this year’s Woodturning Weekender! If you’re signed up for our bulletins about it, an email should be hitting your inbox on Sunday evening. You’ll also get a chance to order your tickets before they go on general sale next week!
If you haven’t signed up, head over to the Woodturning Weekender website, and you can sign up there.

And I’ll see you again next week!
Terry