Hi

Well there’s another week pretty much gone! I did manage a couple of days off this week, but they flew by, as did the rest of them. It’s just all go, and I’m off on my travels again this week to Ise and Nene Valley Woodturners, giving a demo that I think has been postponed a couple of times. Third time lucky! I hope I’ll see some of you there, it’s always good to catch up. Now it’s time to catch up with some questions (groan!)

Sporting items are often a source of questions, and this time it was a rounders bat. What would be a good finish for one, bearing in mind that it could be getting a lot of knocks (not if I was playing, I was always rubbish at rounders!). I suggested the Finishing Oil for this, possibly with a coat or two of wax over it for a higher shine. Both are flexible enough to take the knocks the bat will incur in use, and should the finish get damaged it will be easy to maintain. I certainly wouldn’t use a lacquer, it would crack far too easily.

The same correspondent asked whether buffing the Food Safe Finish with our Buffing System would negate the food safety aspect of the oil. As long as our Microcrystalline Wax (either the paste form or the stick version) was used on the C Wheel then it would be fine, as this wax has been tested for food contact. The test used is the one most commonly used for food contact, and whilst not a perfect fit, (something I plan to return to in a future Newsletter), it does the job and we’re satisfied that the wax won’t cause any harm to anyone eating an item that has been in contact with it.

Still with oils, another email asked about Tung Oil. It wasn’t giving as much of a shine as required, so Burnishing Cream had been used in one area to bring up a higher gloss. This had worked, but my correspondent had decided he wanted to apply a couple more coats of Tung Oil; can the oil be used over the Burnishing Cream? Oils are quite forgiving, so ‘probably’ is the answer here. There might be a small residue of Burnishing Cream left behind which could cause a problem, so the best option was to wipe the surface with some meths (making sure the Tung Oil was completely dry first). This will remove any of the Burnishing Cream clinging to the oil, leaving a clean surface for more oil.
This was done, and success has been reported!

Three short and sweet questions this week. If I do see you this week please let me know you’re a Chestnuteer, and if not I’ll see you back here in a week’s time. We’re also all systems go for our Woodturning Weekender, I made some small updates to the website last week, and don’t forget the option to watch the livestream if you can’t make it in person.

Have a good week

Terry