Keenan, Arno, Jim MacNeil, Jim Hiltz, Rick, Paul, John
Leo set up an old Craftex lathe that Miles had sent over and started to explain to the new members the principals of lathe work.
Arno wants to have Leo take them through the bowl process starting from scratch--ie the raw wood blank from the tree.
Paul worked on the Gold leaf vase. Jim Macneil helped out with that.
Jim Hiltz brought in a finished bowl, ready for staining and finishing.
Leo discussed finishing Cherry.
It is very hard to stain as the end grain absorbs too much stain. Best approach is;
Finish sand to 800-1000 or higher
Spray on Shellac. Shellac is food safe. It is a biological product gathered from a certain tree species. Insects produce the shellac.
Let that dry
Wipe on the stain . Mix the stain first with household ammonia. This makes the stain adhere; otherwise it would not .
Then let that dry and repeat the cycle a few times. This results in even staining. The more coats the darker the cherry will become.
Shellac is best made using flakes; blond or super blond best. (Available from Wood Essence-Canada)
Use one measure of flakes to 4 measures of Methanol.
Keep flakes in a dry place as they absorb moisture and get spoiled .
We discussed having a separate meeting with the new members over the Holidays to discuss plans for the upcoming workshops.
NOTE
Leo discussed Shellac. He is studying modifications on the use of the age old finish.
Shellac comes from the secretions of insects;
Lac is the scarlet resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated species is Kerria lacca.
Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick (broodlac) that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infested.[1] Thousands of lac insects colonize the branches of the host trees and secrete the resinous pigment. The coated branches of the host trees are cut and harvested as sticklac.
The harvested sticklac is crushed and sieved to remove impurities. The sieved material is then repeatedly washed to remove insect parts and other soluble material. The resulting product is known as seedlac. The prefix seed refers to its pellet shape. Seedlac which still contains 3-5% impurities is processed into shellac by heat treatment or solvent extraction.
The leading producer of Lac is Jharkhand, followed by the Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Maharashtra states of India. Lac production is also found in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, parts of China, and Mexico.
Shellac flakes can be dissolved in Methyl alcohol
They come in various colors: Orange, white, blond, and ultra blond:
(Available at Wood Essence in Ontario) The flakes will deteriorate unless humidity is low.
Orange is the hardest to use as it colors up the grain too much
Use a ratio of: 1Flakes : 4 Methyl alcohol
This solution should be stable for a good while
This dilution is OK for spraying use a low pressure or it will gum up on the surface of your wood.
Jig for getting into the bowl to turn
Note the plate on lathe bed, the wood rest on which the metal arm sits
The L-shaped rest is sturdy 3/8 to 1/2 inch metal plate
Craftex Lathe ..beginners instructions
