WEEK COMMENCING 29 JUNE 2025

Hi

Any other tennis fans out there? We’re almost halfway through Wimbledon already, and so far not much rain. That’s a pleasant change.
What always amazes me about ‘The Championships’ though, is this. If you look at any of the other big tennis competitions, they have fancy courtside benches for the players, when they take a short break between sets. In SW19, though, they have a couple of chairs that look like they’ve been stolen from the canteen! Maybe they don’t make enough money from the event..

We’re always happy to answer questions. Some of them are very simple, and we always bear in mind that some callers are new to our products.
For example, this week I was asked about the difference between Finishing Oil and Hard Wax Oil.

Finishing Oil is a tung oil-based product, which gives it an amber tint, and takes about 8 hours to dry. Hard Wax Oil dries pretty much clear, usually in about four hours.
Hard Wax Oil is a much thicker coating, and builds to a gloss finish much quicker.
Finishing Oil is thinner, which makes it slightly easier to apply. And it also has a UV filter in it, making it a good choice for use outdoors on things such as garden ornaments and furniture, whereas Hard Wax Oil is mainly used on interior work.

There are more details about each on our website if you want them.

A call came in a couple of weeks ago about our Buffing Wheel System. The caller was worried that the Compound had ‘gone off’. We wondered why they were saying this, as it’s not something we’d ever expect.

It turns out that the user was running the lathe at a slow speed, less than 600rpm, and this wouldn’t create enough friction to make the compound transfer onto the wheel.

When working with the Buffing Wheels I usually work at about 1100rpm. A higher speed is possible, but this suits me well, and I feel very comfortable with it.
A lower speed (above 600rpm) can be used for buffing, which can be useful on more delicate items, as the wheel feels softer at these speeds. This will also create less heat, which can be a benefit.
The buffing process will take a little longer, though.

Finally for this week, we were asked what can be used over Gilt Cream (now pretty much discontinued, but this advice also applies to the Rainbow Wax). An extra level of protection was required, for a Viking Sunset bowl in the style of the much-missed Nick Agar.

Nick’s recommendation (apparently) would have been an American product, which isn’t available in the UK. But it set us thinking, and based on the technology of the Gilt Cream and the Rainbow Wax, the Wipe-On Poly would be a good choice here.

We don’t normally suggest a lacquer over a wax, but the Wipe-On Poly has enough flexibility to be able to deal with any slight movement in the wax.

That last question was asked in advance of my visit to Derbyshire Dales Woodcraft Club this Saturday, and I’ll be delivering a bottle of Wipe-On Poly at the demo! This will be an all day demo, something I don’t often do, but it’ll be nice to have just a little extra time. I always seem to run out of time at demos, and the last couple of things I want to cover are often rushed more than I’d like.

If I don’t see you there (and even if I do!), I’ll be back again next week with another Newsletter. Remember, if you’re in a woodturning club, and you find these writings useful, please spread the word and tell other club members.

All the best

Terry