Norfolk Island Pine

Messages
70
Location
Kaneohe HI.
Fellow memebers,

Does anyone have a different method of finishing off a NIP bowl. I used the Danish Oil/Poly mix, did the multiple soaks with sanding in between soaks. I belong to the Honolulu Wood Turners and a method some use is to yput a couple coats of mineral oil, let dry and then use two coats of Dura Shield,let dry and then, apply a mixture of Poly/Penetrol.:huh:IMG_0333.jpgIMG_0331.jpgIMG_0324.jpgIMG_0323.jpgThere are two bowls with the mineral oil and two that needs to be sanded down.
 
Lately on bowls that I use for food, I've been using a mix of 50% coconut oil and 50% beeswax, I melt the beeswax first and then add the coconut oil. I rub it on and with a bit of hand friction I can make it melt into the wood. It is also easy to re apply. When I give a bowl away I make up a small container of the mix to go along with the bowl.

Cheers!
 
John,

I've never personally had the opportunity to work with it. The ones I've seen in the galleries over there that really popped though were the ones that were turned super thin and then repeatedly soaked with some form of danish oil or something similar...

I think they were either Ron Kents or someone who was following his process. It seems that the polymerization of the resin is part of what gets that "translucent" character. I don't think mineral oil will necessarily give the same depth but it would be interesting to compare if you have it completely saturated...

Ron's page here has a nice short explanation:
http://www.ronkent.com/techniques.php

Another fellow expanding on his technique who is using BLO and mineral spirits (not oil - just to dilute the blo and help it penetrate) and he tries to get the BLO to fully cure as well:
http://woodturnersunlimited.com/index.php/tutorials/159-translucent-norfolk-island-pine?showall=1

I've been tempted to try the technique on some doug fir that we can get locally :)
 
As I recall, I used a mix of BLO and mineral spirits on the one piece of NIP I turned years ago. It was somewhat translucent, but only in the areas that were thin enough. I agree with Ryan's theory that the polymerization of the linseed oil helps contribute to the translucency of the wood. I'm not sure a non-polymerizing oil like mineral oil will get the same effect.
 
Correction: The piece I turned was from bunya pine (a.k.a. bunya-bunya, and a boatload of other names). I believe it's related to Norfolk Island pine, but I missed that day in Biology class, lol. According to my notes, I soaked it in thinned BLO for a while, let it cure, hit with Antique Oil, let that cure, then hit with spray can lacquer and buffed it. Got the walls down to about 1/8" thick, but never did get it as translucent as it could have been. (For one, I wasn't interested in blowing it up just trying to get it paper thin. I also didn't want to deal with a month of soaking and sanding in Danish Oil.)

From my notes: It's about 8" high and 5 1/2" wide. The wood's cool but the form doesn't do much for me. I wanted a wide opening at the top to show off the knots inside, but the "spittoon rim" doesn't really float my boat. (The rim isn't as big as it looks in the pics, though.) Oh well, every piece is an improvisation or experiment...sometimes I hit it, it sometimes I don't.

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And the obligatory flashlight shots:


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I've only turned one piece of NIP and I didn't try to go really thin with it. I used a polyurethane finish on it and it turned out pretty nice.
42-1363.jpg

On the mineral oil, I've read somewhere that mineral oil never drys.... I don't like the looks of it on most woods I've turned, so rarely use it.

I have another log about the same size as the one I turned, but haven't decided what I want to do with it... it's been gathering dust in my shop for about 3 years now.
 
I'm from Hawaii where Ron Kent resides. He is usually a guest speaker or judge at our Symposium's. I have used his method of making translucent bowls. Only problem is it takes a great deal of soaking and sanding to acquire the translucency. I'm just trying new ways to accomplish a nice finish. The mineral oil make the grain and sparring pop with several coats. After a few days it feels like the oil is fully absorbed.
Question is will the Poly dry over the surface ?
 
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