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 Post subject: Turning beech
PostPosted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 5:42 pm 
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I got three slabs of beech 2 1/2 ' thick table tops from a friend. The heact tops had many holes drilled into them after screws and so on. I cut them up on the bandsaw to have as bowl blanks. I have never turned beech before.
Today I started with a big one, 400 mm diameter, =12'.
I use a cast iron 350 kg heavy lathe with variomatic speed so I can run it on low rpm. Beech is very hard type of wood to turn I think.
Anyway I gut the outside round today before I had to go home. I is 370 mm in diameter at the rim. I started to think about finish. Beech is that a good wood to dye? Linseed oil+wax or something else?


Thanks for watching.
/Anders
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 6:45 pm 
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European beeches are more stable than our American beech, but both are excellent turning woods. Dense, short-grained, but only semi-pretty in my opinion. Burnishes beautifully. Never have dyed beech, but it would probably be all right. Test on a similarly sanded spare piece to see what happens. Curing oils like walnut for general use, or oil and varnish blends for mostly dry use do just fine.


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 Post subject: Dye
PostPosted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 5:45 pm 
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After the bowl has been resting on the shelf for a many weeks I finally felt brave enough to dye it. I used a witch-mix brew made of two old dyes I had in the paint cupboard. Mahogny red and a bit of antique oak. It was try an error mixing and testing on a scrap piece before I applied it on the bowl.
Dye was applied 3 times with very light sanding in between.
When picture was taken I just had applied raw lin seed oil. The material is very dry and the oil is absorbed in the wood very quickly.
As top finish I ll go for a home made wax finish made of linseed oil/bees wax. But first the oil has to harden and that will take a few weeks...
Thanks for watching.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 6:07 pm 
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That's a pretty piece, Anders. Nice bit of salvage.

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 10, 2013 10:57 am 
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Beautiful color to that! Great work, and I can't wait to see it finished. 8) 8)

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