Thanks for sharing, Dennis. This is pure, old school galootery at its best.
Inspiring, to say the least. More details about planing and finishing that
figured maple when you have a chance, please!

 

Greg Isola

 

The maple got lightly run through a planer at the sawmill which removed some of
the high spots but not all. I used a #7 followed by a #4 (both Type 11), the
latter with the cap iron as close to the end of the blade as possible. The
result was almost no tearout. I followed up with a scraper and lightly sanded
with 320.

 

The finish started with three applications of TransTint dye (Vintage Dark
Maple), heavily sanded after each of the first two coats. Then a coat of BLO
followed by eight coats of Minwax Satin Wipe-on Poly. I followed that up with
some 800 grit to remove any nibs, rubbed it out with 0000 wool using Murphy’s
Oil Soap (spray) as a lubricant, and then a coat of Johnson’s Paste Wax. I’m
normally an oil or shellac finisher but decided to go with poly because of the
harder use (spills, etc) it could face. I was worried about a plastic look but
am happy to report that it doesn’t look that way at all.

 

Dennis