w00dchuck question.

BruiseLeee

BruiseLeee

Joined
Sep 7, 2001
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How would one finish a hardwood such as Lignum Vitae? Does tung oil soak into such a dense wood?

:confused:
 
Did the specific piece you are talking about come from your (north of the line) area? If so,it is probably dense enough that you can shape, sand and polish it like a piece of marble. "Minnesota Ironwood" is, I believe, a near relative and if it can be found (most of it was cut to frame out houses) it can be finished this way. There might be some advantage to a good wax, just to help as surface protection, but the oils won't do a great deal to enhance it, so I've read. If you've found some, guard it jealously - it gets rarer every day.

The sparse amount of Minnesota Ironwood I have seen was in an old house being renovated in Buffalo, Minn., and was noticed when the studs on the back porch wall bent every nail they tried to drive. Removing more of the old siding,they found that the studs had been drilled and bolted. Beautiful stuff, too.
 
Nope... the wood didn't come from my area in Saudi Arabia. :D From the exotic wood section of some local wood store says it's from South America. It does polish nicely with interlocking woodgrain. I was told to finish it quickly otherwise it dries out and cracks. :(

lignum mortum :confused: ? Something about death? I lost my Latin when my time machine broke and I was no longer able to visit ancient Rome. :rolleyes:
 
Lignum Vitae is now on John Powell's favorite charitable cause, the CITES endangered list and cannot be imported here from some areas. On the other hand it can be imported here from other areas.

( If you don't understand this, you wouldn't believe how sarcastic I'm being. )
 
Bruise, I guess I'm incorrect in thinking Lignum Vitae is related to the northern Ironwood - the stuff in the house was cut over 160 years ago (at that time - nearer 200 now). It is apparently rare no matter where it comes from. I don't know whether an oil finish is appropriate or not. If it is supposed to be prone to drying and cracking, I would think anything that seals it well would be called for, and tung does that for most woods.
 
Lignum Vitae = really frickin' hard!

This is the stuff that they use on wooden plane soles. It is meant to take a lot of abuse. It is also one of the few woods that will not float. Oiling it is kinda a pain. One thing that you will need to do before you put any finish on it is clean it with acetone. The dense hardwoods produce an anti oxidant that won't allow your finishes to dry. You will see what I mean once you clean the wood for the first time, your rag will have a colored residue on it.

I would try a thinned mixture of oil (i.e. 1 part oil to 1 part mineral spirits) see how that soaks into the wood. If that doesn't work try 'Butchers Bowling Alley Wax'.

Good luck, Btw... what are ya trying to do?

-Matt
 
Originally posted by Matt Matheny

Good luck, Btw... what are ya trying to do?
Click to expand...

I made an ugly stick :) about a year or so ago. Right now it has a layer of paraffin on it.
 
sounds great!

somewhere in my woodworking libray I have a recipe for a really good wax finish... the big problem is finding it...

Only thirty some odd books on woodworking, and probally two to three hundred periodicals... no small feet!
 
sorry forgot what I wanted to say about parafin...

It is a good lube (for table saw tops and such) but as it is it doesn't really make a good finish... It doesn't dry it just cools and therefore can be heated up and removed very easily...


I found one recipe for homemade wax (I cannot wouch for it I haven't tried it yet)

2 parts beeswax
1 part linseed oil
1 part mineral spirits

heat the wax in a double boiler set up till it melts, you don't want it to boil.
Then add in your liqiuds.
adjust to tastes :)
 
Thanks for the recipe. :)

I might try the mineral spirited tongue oil first. If it doesn't seem to soak in I'll try out your earwax recipe.
 
I've heard that this wood is SO hard that it was used as bearings on old steam engines. Anyone know if this is true?
 
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