Finishing Red Oak

I am working on my first turning project using a piece of red oak.

What type of grain filler do you use before you attempt to finish the piece?

Thanks

Darwin (New to wood working & turning)

Reply to
Darwin
Loading thread data ...

I never turn red oak, but chinaberry has similar large pores. I sand to 240, blow the dust off with the air gun, put on a glove and wipe Crystallac waterborne clear filler into the pores. After it is dry I start sanding with 240 and proceed up through the highest grit I plan to use. The first sandpaper will gunk up pretty fast taking off the excess filler. If you plan to stain it, that should probably be done before filling the pores.

Reply to
Gerald Ross

I like to leave mine filled with air. If I wanted a mirror finish, I would have turned maple.

Reply to
DJ Delorie

If the piece is not to be used to serve or store food I first use several coats of Danish/Swedish oil penetrating resin) as a sealing agent. Then I use 2/3 coats of 100% pure (thick as molasses) Tung oil. After each coat I let the piece air dry for several days. If you want to get quicker results you can use Tung Oil finish (roughly 60% Tung oil with 40% solvent). At time, I have used a mixture of mineral oil with bees wax for the finishing coat. On kitchen Oak cabinets I only use Danish/Swedish oil with satisfaction.

Reply to
<marierdj

wet sand with what ever finish you want. the sanded wood will fill the pores and after several applications the pores will fill with the wood itself and you will have a smooth surface for final coat.

Darw> I am working on my first turning project using a piece of red oak. >

Reply to
william kossack

I'm with DJ. Nothing. The texture is one of the things you're looking for.

If you're heart set, you can sand with finish as a lubricant and wipe off excess slurry across the grain, then use a heavy solids finish over top.

There are also commercial fillers based on plaster that you can mix with oil and color.

Reply to
George

I'm with the other two. Oak was never meant to be shiny and smooth! Sand it well and finish away.

It's not clear if this is your first turning project, period, or just your first oak turning, but if it's the former, I think you'll find that oak is a less than desirable turning wood unless you're making something like stair spindles- just a personal opinion, of course, but if it's interesting enough to make into a bowl, it's terrible to deal with as it dries, and if it's straight-grained, it's not much to look at when done. (It does, of course, look good for the above mentioned stair spindles- it has it's place, to be sure)

Reply to
Prometheus

I tired to turn red oak once. Never again. I twice turn most of my bowls. When I turned the oak the first time it cut like a dream. Big shavings flying everywhere and ribbons of wood streaming from the end of the gouge. When I put the bowl on the lathe later to finish it, this stuff become unreal HARD. After 45 minutes, I took the thing off the lathe and chucked it into the burn pile. It was a beautiful piece of crotch wood too. I should have turned it to finish in the beginning and let nature do with it what it would, but I didn't foresee this problem.

I've turned black, white, pin, burr, and chink-a-pin oak since with no problems.

JD

Reply to
JD

Maybe I'll try it again some day, but the first (and last) oak I turned was a bowl from a burl cap that ended up looking like crumpled tinfoil after a few weeks. Damn shame, too- as it was a really dramatic burl, and it took me about 4 hours of hiking through a clearcut area with a bow saw to find that one piece of burl on a stump.

Reply to
Prometheus

InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.