Another Burr Elm practise piece.

Chas Jones

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Location
Cotswolds, UK
_________Just trialing differing finishes, this one just friction polish.

_________ _____ click on image for larger view
_______________Burr Elm 155mm
_________
_________And what do you do with the bit out of the middle that you could not bring yourself to turn into shavings.

_________ _____ click on image for larger view
_______________Burr Elm
 
.... I am not a big fan of the friction finish but this piece turned out pretty nice.

What particularly about the friction (shellac) finish don't you like Mohammad, does it not hold up well to use, I've been using it just lately as trial instead of my usual sanding sealer and wax on the basis that most of our good furniture is French polished, which is in essence the same substance. Interested to know if there is a problem with turnings so treated.
 
That sure is pretty wood, Chas, and both the bowl and candle holder came out very nicely. Well done. :thumb:

In my limited experience, it seems the friction finishes I've applied, which quick, have not been as durable as some of the others I've used, notably Minwax Antique Oil and lacquer.
 
Chas, I have limited amount of experience with different wood finishes so it is difficult to comment on the durability etc of a particular wood finish. I was speaking in terms of the visual results that I have been able to achieve with the friction polish. I have used two types of friction polish, first one was Hut's Crystal coat liquid and the second was Shellawax/EEE cream. I liked the shine and sheen produced by the Shellawax/EEE more than the Crystal coat but prefer oil over either one.

Friction polish seems like the most easiest finish to apply on a turned object, yet for some reason I haven't been able to produce the desired (or advertised) results. This could simply be due to the lack of finishing expertise. I realize that a particular type of wood or project may call for a specific finish and you can only learn that by trial and I'd be very interested to know the results of your trials.

I guess in the end it all comes down to your personal preference.
 
Mohammad, In the UK anything referred to as friction polish is invariably just shellac in a spirit base, easy to make up yourself if not on the shelf.

This is typical: http://www.chestnutproducts.co.uk/results.asp?cat=Polishes

Apply with cloth, and whilst cloth is still damp burnish surface to build up depth of coat, with cloth constantly moving to avoid build up streaks slowly increase pressure as the solvent evaporates until you get a hard gloss surface.
 
chas, beautiful shape and wood on both pieces...not a surprise after viewing your gallery.

is there any way to dig out the center part of the blank without investing several hundred dollars (that would be about 20 pounds!) on a dedicated device? any homemade versions that are worth looking at? it is a waste of good wood many times to just hog out the blank.
 
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