Finish for jigs and other shop accessories

[monophoto]

I'm of the school that says that items made of wood should be sanded to remove any rough spots (don't go crazy with sanding) and some kind of finish should be applied, even if the item is a purely utilitarian shop item.

The finish that I have settled on is cheap and quick - put a couple of scoops of ordinary paste wax in a jar, add turpentine, and used a stick to mash and stir the mixture until it is smooth and runny. Then I added boiled linseed oil - about as much oil as the turpentine (exact amounts not required - far from rocket science). It starts out lumpy (I suppose that could be avoided by more vigorous blending, perhaps with an old kitchen mixer), but over time the wax eventually dissolves completely in the turps. The oil component does separate when it is left standing. Give it a brief shake to blend the oil back into the mix, apply to a bit of paper towel and wipe on the sanded wood. Let it cure for a few minutes, and buff with a paper towel. The oil penetrates into the wood to provide protection while the wax leaves a soft, velvet-like feel on the surface.

I could accomplish the same thing using Howard's Feed-n Wax, but it costs more. Also, ordinary paste wax contains both beeswax and carnauba, and BLO protects wood better than orange oil. And while Howard's does smell very nice, my blend isn't bad. Could mineral spirits rather than turps, but I prefer the smell of turps.

I use this on jigs like wooden faceplates, threaded wooden mandrels, tool handles, and even fixtures for hanging tools on the wall.

 

[jttheclockman]

Sounds like it has worked for you so why not stay with it. My only caution to others is be careful when using waxes because you do not want them transferring into grains of wood that will be finished later. Could cause finishing problems such as fisheye. This goes for waxing tablesaw tops and so on.

 

[leehljp]

I have done mineral spirits in the past but I liked the smell of turpentine. Both of those mixed with melted bees wax and BLO.

I had written this but deleted it, and now adding it back in:

In the past few years, I have found either mineral spirits or thinners to have changed to be less volatile - I bought a gallon at the HD and when I got home to use it, it was milky. I went to my local hardware store and they told me that it is changing ecologically. It still worked for its main purpose but some of the other uses had to be adjusted. I now go to my local hardware store for thinners and mineral spirits so that I know what I am getting.

 

[monophoto]

In the past few years, I have found either mineral spirits or thinners to have changed to be less volatile - I bought a gallon at the HD and when I got home to use it, it was milky. I went to my local hardware store and they told me that it is changing ecologically. It still worked for its main purpose but some of the other uses had to be adjusted. I now go to my local hardware store for thinners and mineral spirits so that I know what I am getting.

This is reality, and not just in the world of finishing and solvents. My wife complains that the ingredients called for in some of her favorite recipes are no longer available, and my experience as a photographer is that darkroom chemicals that I used 30-40 years ago cannot be found. And while environmental considerations are one cause, there are others as well - with economics being one of the major ones.

To illustrate how common this is - the bananas that are available to us today at the supermarket today are not the same fruit that we knew as bananas when we were growing up. Up to the mid 50's, most bananas imported into the US were of the Gros Michels variety. Then a fungus came along that killed the Gros Michles banana trees Today, the bananas we get are Cavandish bananas that are immune to the fungus that wiped out the Gros Micheles. They look similar, but taste a little different (and aren't as sweet). But hang on - there is an emerging problem in the banana world that a new fungus surfaced in Asia a few years ago and is now spreading across the world and killing off the Cavandish banana trees.

So the point is that things are always changing around us and we have to be able to adapt to those changes.

 

[dogcatcher]

I mix spar, mineral spirits and BLO about 40-40-20. Basically an oil weak version of teak oil.

 

[dogcatcher]

I should add for hand tools I mix homemade linseed oil and beeswax. A good sanding to about 320, then wet sand on 3 or 4 coats. A shop teacher taught me this method, he sat a jar of flaxseed oil and water in the sun. After about a week or so the fat solids would separate. Then he added beeswax.
These videos explain the process

 

[egnald]

Hi all - I am too impatient to use most finishes for shop jigs and fixtures. I almost always opt for spray lacquer, usually clear as I like to be able to see the wood, but sometimes I use blue because it matches a lot of the Kreg and Rockler brand T-Tracks, and such that I use on some of the jigs. I like lacquer because I can put on multiple coats and successive coats melt into each other for strong adhesion. It is also nice that I only have to wait about 10 minutes between coats because spray lacquer dries so fast.

On turned parts like tool handles I use a friction polish, either home made juice or Hut Crystal Coat.

Dave

 

[KenB259]

I guess I'm in the minority, I never put any finish on my jigs.

 

[leehljp]

I guess I'm in the minority, I never put any finish on my jigs.

I didn't answer that question in my response above.

I do for the pretty ones, but not for the ugly but practical ones!

 

[jttheclockman]

I have yet to ever put a finish on a jig I made. Usually they are crude but get the job done. Have more jigs that I have no idea why I made them. I have started throwing some out to make room in the shop.

 

[mmayo]

One coat of wipe on poly, let dry, sand lightly with 400 grit. Smooth to touch, but a bit more protected. Oil based only; I hate the water based stuff.

 

[KenB259]

To my mind, jigs are made to hold a piece of wood in a very specific way, whether to be sawn or routed or whatever. Putting a finish on them makes them more slippery. Now I might put a coat of paste wax on the bottom of a sled, slippery is good in that regard. I'd rather not have a slippery surface on the top side.

 

[MDWine]

I like a bit of finish, and I try to make most jigs look "nice"... lol
I like either spray poly, or wipe on poly... quick, easy, reasonably durable.

 

[Woodchipper]

I guess I'm in the minority, I never put any finish on my jigs.

Me, either. The best finish is lots of sawdust and some dog hair. Both are easily removed. I made a Bedan tool and never put any kind of finish on it.

 

[penicillin]

Throughout California, and in particular, Southern California, many "VOC"s (volatile organic solvents) are banned. The regulatory agencies behind the bans are the statewide CARB (California Air Resources Board) and the SCAQMD (Southern California Air Quality Management District).

Here are examples of solvents that are banned: mineral spirits, denatured alcohol (DNA), turpentine, Japan drier, naphtha, etc. You could buy denatured alcohol as stove fuel in the camping stores for a while, but even that was banned throughout California. (Ethanol is still in automobile fuel, however.) Some popular finishes were removed from the shelf, too. Arm-R-Seal is gone. Only one store in my local area sells it. The loophole is that Arm-R-Seal can be sold only for "non-architectural" uses, meaning that you can apply Arm-R-Seal to a moveable piece of furniture that you make, but not for wooden structural elements that are permanent to the building, such as a doorframe or mantel. No, they didn't ask when I bought it.

There are new products sold as "mineral spirits", "paint thinner", which are designed to be compliant in California. To the best of my knowledge, they are acetone-based. The labels are the same as the old products, so it isn't easy to determine what is actually in the new products, nor how well they perform as substitutes.

The substitutes may be labeled "VOC Compliant". Companies may have two different versions of their solvents (e.g., "paint thinner") depending on where it is sold. I have seen some wood finishes come in two different versions, with a warning not to mix the two different types. They are labeled as the same product but shipped according to the region's restrictions (or lack), increasing confusion and potential finishing problems. Two versions of the same product may require thinning with different solvents. Really.

I see shellac flakes on the shelf at the woodworking stores, but you can't find the denatured alcohol to dissolve it. Some woodworkers still have old stock of original solvents on hand. I have been told that some woodworkers bring back small personal quantities of banned solvents while on vacation in nearby states, which should not be surprising.

 

[jttheclockman]

Throughout California, and in particular, Southern California, many "VOC"s (volatile organic solvents) are banned. The regulatory agencies behind the bans are the statewide CARB (California Air Resources Board) and the SCAQMD (Southern California Air Quality Management District).

Here are examples of solvents that are banned: mineral spirits, denatured alcohol (DNA), turpentine, Japan drier, naphtha, etc. You could buy denatured alcohol as stove fuel in the camping stores for a while, but even that was banned throughout California. (Ethanol is still in automobile fuel, however.) Some popular finishes were removed from the shelf, too. Arm-R-Seal is gone. Only one store in my local area sells it. The loophole is that Arm-R-Seal can be sold only for "non-architectural" uses, meaning that you can apply Arm-R-Seal to a moveable piece of furniture that you make, but not for wooden structural elements that are permanent to the building, such as a doorframe or mantel. No, they didn't ask when I bought it.

There are new products sold as "mineral spirits", "paint thinner", which are designed to be compliant in California. To the best of my knowledge, they are acetone-based. The labels are the same as the old products, so it isn't easy to determine what is actually in the new products, nor how well they perform as substitutes.

The substitutes may be labeled "VOC Compliant". Companies may have two different versions of their solvents (e.g., "paint thinner") depending on where it is sold. I have seen some wood finishes come in two different versions, with a warning not to mix the two different types. They are labeled as the same product but shipped according to the region's restrictions (or lack), increasing confusion and potential finishing problems. Two versions of the same product may require thinning with different solvents. Really.

I see shellac flakes on the shelf at the woodworking stores, but you can't find the denatured alcohol to dissolve it. Some woodworkers still have old stock of original solvents on hand. I have been told that some woodworkers bring back small personal quantities of banned solvents while on vacation in nearby states, which should not be surprising.

Hope that is not a political topic. Talking about Gov. agencies.

 

[egnald]

Here are examples of solvents that are banned: mineral spirits, denatured alcohol (DNA), turpentine, Japan drier, naphtha, etc.....

Nearly pure Ethanol in the form of 190 proof Everclear can still be purchased in Nebraska. And of course Denatured Alcohol is still available here too. I find it amusing that 95% Ethanol, 5% water (Everclear) sells for $20/quart, but 95% Ethanol, 5% Methanol (Denatured Alcohol) sells for only $5 per quart. That 5% water is really expensive here!

Dave

 

[penicillin]

Hope that is not a political topic. Talking about Gov. agencies.

You're right. I try to help, but just seem to keep stumbling. I am done trying.

 

[jttheclockman]

You're right. I try to help, but just seem to keep stumbling. I am done trying.

Believe me it is not easy. The written word is always recorded somewhere.