Hi
Got any plans for the weekend? No, I’m not about to plug the Woodturning Weekender again (but it’s not long now!), I’m talking about this Saturday, 13 July. I know there’s a lot of sport stuff going on too, but there’s also a bit of a show going on at Yandles in Somerset. We can’t get there, but our good friend Stewart Furini is donning the green and black t-shirt again for us, and will be there demonstrating all sorts of colouring techniques. He’ll be making at least one more YouTube video with us, but if you want to see him in real life, this could be your chance!

Apologies if this makes you feel old… would you believe that the Newsletter is 7 years old on Sunday! Wow!! If you’ve been with us since the start, or just this week… Thank you!

Here’s an unusual sounding question that I’ve had a few times. We were asked about the best finish for a wig stand, by a turner making them for a cancer charity. The criteria were to have something that won’t damage the wig and is also fairly water-resistant. There are a couple of options here; I went for the Hard Wax Oil, as oils were mentioned in the question. Once allowed to dry (2-3 days), this meets all the requirements.
An alternative would have been the Melamine Lacquer, if another option is required.

Another question asked about a finish for a lamp; the stem was a natural buddleia branch, complete with bark – but it was a bit flaky. Would a finish seal it on and keep it all intact? Probably not, sadly. The finish will stick to the bark, but if that comes away, the finish will as well. It’s possible that if the bark is relatively firm, and only likely to come away if ‘encouraged’, the coating might help it stay in place longer. But if it’s falling off without help, it’s not going to help, sadly.

A question that came in a while ago, but is still relevant, concerns our Hard Wax Oil (although it also applies to Finishing Oil and variants of). Once opened, the oils will get thicker. This is because they are oxidising – reacting with the air in the can, and setting. It doesn’t matter that the lid is on tight, because this reaction doesn’t rely on evaporation. The oil is usually OK to use, and can be thinned with white spirit to aid application. But prevention is better than cure. There are a couple of options; putting small (clean) pebbles (or similar) into the can will raise the level of the liquid and thus reduce the amount of air, which in turn slows down the oxidisation.
The other, slightly more elegant, solution is our Air Purge Spray, which replaces the air in the can with an inert gas, which pretty much stops the reaction completely.
Options we can’t recommend are transferring the oil into a smaller container, unless the warnings on the label are also transferred. Nor do we like the idea of putting the oil into a collapsible plastic bag; these again will not have the relevant safety warnings, nor are they child resistant, both of which are legal requirements, we could potentially be in hot water if we tried it.

I had a lovely evening down at Kennet Valley Woodturners this week, a really good audience and great fun. Thanks! I’m out again this week at Ashdown Turners, I hope to see some of you there.
Have a great weekend, enjoy the sport (I’m thinking of the tennis, really) if that’s your thing, and if not, the workshop is a great place to avoid it from!

I’ll be back next week

Terry