I plan on making a gift out of wood for a christmas present, a box, or perhaps carving out a heart, something like that.
I have created such gifts before, but always in a class where the materials were supplied. I do not know what type of wood to use.
In my class, we sanded down the wood and coated it to make it shine and slick. What wood would work with this? and also what would I use for the coating?
RAYMON
Comments
cedar is a nice soft wood to work with and can be finished with varathane or what ever your taste is. varathane is very shiny and slick but requires several coats sanding lightly between coats.
go to home depot and get a decent sheet of ply wood, they can show you what peice. and for the coating get a can of varnish
White pine is a soft wood it is pretty, and not too expensive. Yoiu can stain wood almost any color you want. I like minwax for a poly, but you will definately have to sand in between coats, because the grain will raise up and feel like there are little bumps on it. Use a fine sand paper, and have fun.
if you are making a box what is it for if for firewood I like a 1”x6″x3′ for the sides and 2′ lengths for the ends and approx 2′ high I make these out of rough cut spruce.If something nicer get a laminate particle sheet 4×8 and buy the iron on edge this can be bought plain or prestained.I prefer the prestained less mess and consistant colour.For carving or Dremel tooling wood I like cedar{nicer scent} or white pine both wood have nice grain and take stains nicely.
most carvers use basswood…i use cherry or walnut for my jewelry boxes…lots of choices…for a finish canned spray laquer is easy for beginners…
Where did these other guys get their experience in wood working? The junk yard? Scratch that. You can find better stuff at the junk yard.
Cherry has a wonderful red color.
Boxwood that has been seasoned won’t become misshappen.
Red Maple coated with clear polyurethane can produce some beautiful red hues, especially if you’re lucky enough to get some heartwood.
A lot of guitars are made from rosewood and, as the name suggests, has great deep red to maroon colors.
All of the above are medium hard so they maintain shape (won’t warp) if seasoned.
Boxwood sawdust may be an irritant to some.
Walnut looks great but is very hard which makes it tough to work with.
Teak is pretty but has to be imported (read expensive).
Unless you want oak or aspen (oak is very hard and aspen is very soft) forget the big box home centers. Find a speciality shop in your area.
I’m not a shill for this company but they do have many alternatives.
see if you can find some Kirri wood at your local lumber yard. it is called paulownia, the japanese used it to carve dowelry boxes, and many other things. it comes in primer grey, but you can sand thru the paint with ease. very nice to work with.
Just to give you some ideas…
If you live in a decent sized city, you should have at least one store that offers exotic woods.
You should be able to buy a small piece and if they can’t size it for you (assuming that you don’t have the tools) you should be able to get a cabinet shop to size it for you for a small price. These woods can be difficult to work with, especially if your tools are dull.
I only do the woodwork end of things, not the shiny stuff.
Cedar, plywood, spruce are all softwoods. Myself I would prefer use a hardwood such as: oak, walnut, cherry, ash, maple, or birch. Considering the color of finished product you are looking to achieve would determine which wood I would choose. Walnut would produce a dark finished product. Cherry would produce a red-ish product, maple would produce a lighter colored result and ash and birch would produce a medium colored product.
If I were you, I’d sand the Christmas present with 100, then 150 and lastly 200 grit sandpaper. Then stain it and lastly apply 3 coats of HIGH gloss polyurethane. This process will produce a high quality shine product. I’d know, all of my baseboards and doors in my house were done this way and it looks incredible!!!
Mahogany looks good if finished with danish oil. Just carve out your object, sand it down to 220 grit, end grain sanded with 320 grit, flood it with danish oil, (different shades are available), wipe off the excess, let it sit overnight. Next day, use some wet/dry sandpaper - 320 grit (or so) - flood it again and sand it down with the oil on it. wipe off the excess. let it sit overnight. do the process again with 500 grit wet/dry sandpaper. wipe off all excess, let it sit for a few days to ensure it dries. you can add in some high gloss tung oil after the final sanding to give it a higher shine. mahogany is a little more expensive than most but is easy to work with and looks good. can’t be bought at the big box stores though.
Edit - the wet/dry sandpaper can be bought at the paint section of home depot/lowes. Danish oil at lowes. mahogany at a local lumber yard for about 4.00 a board-foot.
