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2 firsts for me this weekend

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Greg

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Jul 6, 2003, 12:35:37 AM7/6/03
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Probably not the project to be trying new things but oh well. I'm
working on a cradle for my first child. I used water based analine
dye for the color which I've never done before. First application
turned out to be way darker than I wanted. I checked my copy of
"Understanding Wood Finishes" and there it was, add more solvent to
the wood. Sprayed on some more water (a few times) and the color was
much more like what I was wanting. God, this stuff is great! You can
darken and lighten it! Anyway, I was warned by a friend that it would
look like crap with just the dye and it did. Even though I had been
warned, I thought for sure I had made a mistake using this stuff.
I've read about so many of you guys using shellac that I thought I'd
give that a try to. I put the first coat of shellac on the stretcher
tonight just to see what it looked like. Damn! Looks incredible! SO
much different than just the dyed wood. I think I'm now hooked on
analine dye and shellac. A couple of questions though. How do you
put on the dye? I used a spray bottle which worked great but it
seemed like a lot of wasted dye running off the wood (I tested with a
foam brush and I got darker lines at the ends of the brush strokes).
I put down cloth but quickly saturated it. I pre-raised the grain but
there was still some grain raising after the dye application. Is it
ok to lightly sand again with something like 600 grit? One more...as
I mentioned, I sprayed more water onto the wood to lighten and wanted
to know if there was a limit to the amount of water (solvent) that
should be added before the wood gets damaged in some way.

Thanks,
Greg

Traves "Squarefinger" Coppock

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Jul 6, 2003, 12:42:34 AM7/6/03
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"Greg" <jw...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:e0e055fc.03070...@posting.google.com...
snip

> A couple of questions though. How do you
> put on the dye?

i like to use a rubber almost exactly like my shellac rubber.
it keeps your dye wet eliminating the "dry lines", and you can also absorb
some of the excess

snip

>I pre-raised the grain but
> there was still some grain raising after the dye application. Is it
> ok to lightly sand again with something like 600 grit?

i usualy apply one real light spit coat of shellac, then sand the surface
down with 220 grit after that is dry. that tends to seal the dye in so i
dont remove it if i get a little over zealous with the sandpaper, and it
also helps to stiffen the fibers making them easier to sand down.

>One more...as
> I mentioned, I sprayed more water onto the wood to lighten and wanted
> to know if there was a limit to the amount of water (solvent) that
> should be added before the wood gets damaged in some way.
>

so long as you can dry the wood out, and it wasnt totaly soaked, you should
be fine.
remember, its easier to add more dye than remove it.


> Thanks,
> Greg

jewveddyvelkum

Traves


McQualude

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Jul 6, 2003, 11:44:37 AM7/6/03
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Traves "Squarefinger" Coppock spaketh...

> i like to use a rubber almost exactly like my shellac rubber.
> it keeps your dye wet eliminating the "dry lines", and you can also
> absorb some of the excess

I'm sure you're not finishing with condoms or overshoes, so what is a
rubber?
--
McQualude

Bob Bowles

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Jul 6, 2003, 10:01:18 AM7/6/03
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No stopping 'em now! Jeff Jewitt suggests spraying WB dye and current
FWW shows him with hand pump sprayer doing just that. His TransTint
dyes can be mixed in many vehicles including shellac and waterbased
finishes. I use it in PSL and as he suggests "Sneak up on the final
color". Most people follow the wise mantra "Practice on scrap or
you'll be practicing on your project".

Phil Crow

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Jul 6, 2003, 1:43:53 PM7/6/03
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"Traves \"Squarefinger\" Coppock" <newsg...@farmvalleywoodworks.com> wrote in message news:<3f07a5e0$1...@corp-news.newsgroups.com>...

> "Greg" <jw...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:e0e055fc.03070...@posting.google.com...
> snip
> > A couple of questions though. How do you
> > put on the dye?
>
> i like to use a rubber almost exactly like my shellac rubber.
> it keeps your dye wet eliminating the "dry lines", and you can also absorb
> some of the excess
>
> snip
>
A shellac rubber? You know, latex (or even sheepskin) is probably
more effective and more comfortable <g>.

-Phil Crow

Traves W. Coppock

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Jul 6, 2003, 4:31:14 PM7/6/03
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On Sun, 06 Jul 2003 15:44:37 GMT, McQualude
<mcqu...@yoohoo.com>Crawled out of the shop and said. . .:

ROFL
ok, a "rubber" is a wad of cotton batting(i use cotton balls) about 3"
around when lightly compressed. then take a piece of cotton fabric (i
use cotton flour sack material bleached white) about 20" square.
place the sheet of fabric on a flat surface, and fold it in half. then
fold it in half the opposite way.
place the wad of batting or cotton balls in the center of the folded
fabric, and fold the sides in from the corners first, then gather the
rest up so it kind of looks like a hobo's sack.
once you have the fit right, and its not to dense when folded, open
the "sack" and pour in some shellac. get the wad wet, but not so that
it runs out the bottom of your fabric.

now to use it.

take the bunched up portion of the "sack" and put it in the palm of
your "smart" hand. taking small strokes,start at the edges of your
workpiece on the end grain about 1-2" from the edge. once you have the
edge "feathered" out, start working the material towards the other
edge of the work. if the rubber begins to "stick" on the wood, give it
a slight squeeze. and when you cannot get material out with a light
squeeze, open the rubber and add more shellac or dye. i keep an empty
squeeze bottle from some kind of pizza sauce full of dye or shellac
close at hand to fill my rubber.

if the process of making a rubber sounds confusing, i can take some
pics of one being made and post them to ABPW

hope this helps,

Traves "no condoms in the shop" Coppock

Fly-by-Night CC

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Jul 8, 2003, 1:32:37 AM7/8/03
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In article <Xns93B077799...@24.25.9.43>,
McQualude <mcqu...@yoohoo.com> wrote:

> I'm sure you're not finishing with condoms or overshoes, so what is a
> rubber?

The French call it a "tampon", no, really; the rest-o-da shellacky world
calls it a rubber. It's the tightly packed wad of material that's
dampened with the finish and is used in place of a brush.

--
Owen Lowe and his Fly-by-Night Copper Company
Offering a shim for the Porter-Cable 557 type 2 fence design.
<http://www.flybynightcoppercompany.com>
<http://www.easystreet.com/~onlnlowe/index.html>

Traves W. Coppock

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Jul 8, 2003, 3:20:51 AM7/8/03
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On Mon, 07 Jul 2003 22:32:37 -0700, Fly-by-Night CC
<onln...@easystreet.com>Crawled out of the shop and said. . .:

>In article <Xns93B077799...@24.25.9.43>,
> McQualude <mcqu...@yoohoo.com> wrote:
>
>> I'm sure you're not finishing with condoms or overshoes, so what is a
>> rubber?
>
>The French call it a "tampon", no, really; the rest-o-da shellacky world
>calls it a rubber. It's the tightly packed wad of material that's
>dampened with the finish and is used in place of a brush.


hehe, yea, but i figured just tossin rubber at em was enough of a
woodworking innuendo for one day

Traves

George

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Jul 8, 2003, 7:53:34 AM7/8/03
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Gotta love euphemism. A tampon is really just a French word for "stopper"
or, as they are often called - corks. Guess that would have sounded too
crude, so they chose a genteel word.

In my younger days I managed at a Victory Market, where we referred to
similar products as "manhole covers," so as not to offend customers.

"Traves W. Coppock" <newsg...@farmvalleywoodworks.com> wrote in message
news:l4skgvsd8k9nv2h7l...@4ax.com...

CW

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Jul 9, 2003, 2:49:01 AM7/9/03
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Rubber: thing that rubs, one who rubs, applicator, eraser. Obviously, in
this context, applicator.
"McQualude" <mcqu...@yoohoo.com> wrote in message
news:Xns93B077799...@24.25.9.43...

Chris

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Jul 9, 2003, 12:18:02 PM7/9/03
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phil...@yahoo.com (Phil Crow) wrote in message news:<e58cf53.03070...@posting.google.com>...

> >
> A shellac rubber? You know, latex (or even sheepskin) is probably
> more effective and more comfortable <g>.
>

You could use Poly too, but shellac is repairable and non-toxic.

-Chris

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