Bruce Moffitt
Member
- Messages
- 34
- Location
- Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
I’m a novice when it comes to wood working, (especially finishing) and I am building a Kitchen/dining room table from flat sawn ash. The table will be four legged with extension slides and two leaves.
LOML wants it to have a dark rich (coffee/chocolate coloured) finish.
Now that I have most of the parts ready for finish I need some help.
Firstly
Should I stain and finish the parts before I glue up the legs and apron? I ‘m using mortise and tennon joints to fasten the aprons to the legs and will fasten the top to the leg assemblies using screws and slotted holes
Secondly
I finished a test piece:
-sanded using 180 grit
-Raised the grain with water, let it dry and sanded again to remove the fuzz using 220grit
-Applied 2 coats of Dark Walnut Aniline dye
-sanded lightly with 220 grit to remove and fuzz from the dye application and sprayed it several times using a catalyzed lacquer.
The colour is great but I put on too much lacquer and I didn’t fill the pores.
I would like the character of the ash to stand out but I would like the finished surface to be flat (no visible pores).
From what I have been reading it looks like I should fill the grain in order to get the finish I want.
So, I picked up some Elmer's Wood Filler at lee valley. Now that I have read the label it looks like the filler is water soluble and I’m not sure it’s the right thing to use or how to use it with the water based dye (Should I add the dye to the filler or apply the filler and dye after and will this change the colour?). The more I think about it maybe I should put “Elmer” on the shelf and use it to fill nail holes under paint.
Feeling a bit like the dog that chased the school bus. Now that I caught it what do I do?
Any suggestions on what to use and how to fill the pores would be greatly appreciated. I am also wondering if the lacquer is an appropriate final finish for the table which will get lots of use (need to have a durable surface).
LOML wants it to have a dark rich (coffee/chocolate coloured) finish.
Now that I have most of the parts ready for finish I need some help.
Firstly
Should I stain and finish the parts before I glue up the legs and apron? I ‘m using mortise and tennon joints to fasten the aprons to the legs and will fasten the top to the leg assemblies using screws and slotted holes
Secondly
I finished a test piece:
-sanded using 180 grit
-Raised the grain with water, let it dry and sanded again to remove the fuzz using 220grit
-Applied 2 coats of Dark Walnut Aniline dye
-sanded lightly with 220 grit to remove and fuzz from the dye application and sprayed it several times using a catalyzed lacquer.
The colour is great but I put on too much lacquer and I didn’t fill the pores.
I would like the character of the ash to stand out but I would like the finished surface to be flat (no visible pores).
From what I have been reading it looks like I should fill the grain in order to get the finish I want.
So, I picked up some Elmer's Wood Filler at lee valley. Now that I have read the label it looks like the filler is water soluble and I’m not sure it’s the right thing to use or how to use it with the water based dye (Should I add the dye to the filler or apply the filler and dye after and will this change the colour?). The more I think about it maybe I should put “Elmer” on the shelf and use it to fill nail holes under paint.
Feeling a bit like the dog that chased the school bus. Now that I caught it what do I do?
Any suggestions on what to use and how to fill the pores would be greatly appreciated. I am also wondering if the lacquer is an appropriate final finish for the table which will get lots of use (need to have a durable surface).