vtgaryw
Member
We have a new hardwood/millwork shop here in northern VT. They invited the management team from Sutherland Welles to hold a seminar last night. Very informative.
It turns out they're actually headquartered here in Vermont, about an hour away from here.
I learned a ton about tung oil finishes. I've used a lot of tung oil in the past, but not all tung oil is created equal. From everything I've ever read, Sutherland Welles is the best by far. Their formulations only use tung oil, a lot of other suppliers sneak in linseed oil and soy oils.
Their one product of interest to turners (not necessarily for pens) is called
"Millies All-Purpose Penetrating Tung Oil." A lot of turners even use it to pre-treat green wood as it dries in a paper bag, it acts a lot like PEG.
The nice thing about all of Sutherland Welles finishes is their low or non-existance of toxins. When dry they're all food safe. They are not classified hazardous for shipping purposes.
Their support is fantastic, as attested to by a number of the several dozen people who turned out for the seminar.
The only downside to their product is the price. Their products are quite a bit more than most of their competitors, but on the other hand they get almost twice the coverage.
If you do a lot of woodworking other than pens, or turns bowls and the like, I'd suggest you check out their stuff:
Polymerized Tung Oil from Sutherland Welles, Ltd ? Tung Oil Finishes for Wood Finishing
-Gary
It turns out they're actually headquartered here in Vermont, about an hour away from here.
I learned a ton about tung oil finishes. I've used a lot of tung oil in the past, but not all tung oil is created equal. From everything I've ever read, Sutherland Welles is the best by far. Their formulations only use tung oil, a lot of other suppliers sneak in linseed oil and soy oils.
Their one product of interest to turners (not necessarily for pens) is called
"Millies All-Purpose Penetrating Tung Oil." A lot of turners even use it to pre-treat green wood as it dries in a paper bag, it acts a lot like PEG.
The nice thing about all of Sutherland Welles finishes is their low or non-existance of toxins. When dry they're all food safe. They are not classified hazardous for shipping purposes.
Their support is fantastic, as attested to by a number of the several dozen people who turned out for the seminar.
The only downside to their product is the price. Their products are quite a bit more than most of their competitors, but on the other hand they get almost twice the coverage.
If you do a lot of woodworking other than pens, or turns bowls and the like, I'd suggest you check out their stuff:
Polymerized Tung Oil from Sutherland Welles, Ltd ? Tung Oil Finishes for Wood Finishing
-Gary