Sanding & finishing wooden jewelry

[PaulWG]

Hi all,

I'd appreciate some advice for a jewelry project I am working on.

I'm using reclaimed skateboards (7 ply Canadian maple, approx 10mm thick) to make bangles, earrings, etc. Have a look at this image to get the idea:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mQHEXLbvGtg/Ub7HejiP7UI/AAAAAAAAQn0/ioUuOKs02xo/s1600/ellie-beck-skateboard-squar.jpg

Firstly: I've run into a problem caused by there being different colored veneers in each skateboard. When I'm sanding the exposed veneers the sanding dust is coloring the lighter veneers. I've tried wiping the piece down with a wet cloth between sandings, but I find this causes the end-grains to swell and I need to sand again. I'm woried that if I don't wipe away the colored sanding dust between sandings I'll rub the colored dust into the piece, thereby marking the lighter colored veneers.

Secondly: I'd like some advice on choosing and applying a finish to my pieces. I'm after the same finish as in the photo above. I want to bring out the grain and deepen the hue of stained veneers. I'd also like to seal the pieces with a satin/gloss coat (undecided). I'm thinking a poly aerosol for the sealant?

And lastly: Considering I'll be applying a sealant to the jewelry, how finely do I need to sand before sealing? From what I understand it is unnecessary to sand finer than 400 grit as the sealant will 'fill the gaps' from there. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

Paul

[Master Splinter]

Dust the piece with a blow gun and compressor rather than using water, and almost any finish will darken/saturate the colours a bit more...but I'd go for (possibly) our benevolent forum owner's cross linking hard shellac - HARD SHELLAC - New improved formula finish. (http://www.ubeaut.com.au/hardshell.htm)

[PaulWG]

Thanks for that Splinter. I've read that shellac is not the best option for jewelry as there is a chance it will come in contact with alcohol (in perfume), and 'melt'. I've also read about the likelihood that shellac is likely to chip and peel at corners. Thoughts?

Compressed air for dust removal sounds like a good idea, but I'll need to get myself an air compressor first ;)

Is there a particular reason you suggest I don't wipe down with a damp rag?

I've since read up on tack-rags, does this sound like a problem that could be sorted out that way? Or a rag with some mineral solvent?

[Master Splinter]

The cross linking shellac is much more resistant to alcohol than standard shellac - so much so that you can use it as a table finish in restaurants. (its also popular on guitars, and guitars and alcohol just seem to go together!)

As you've found, damp rags cause surface swelling; you could use a solvent, but the dyes that you want to keep may prove fugitive in many solvents; or worse than that, just one of the colours may be susceptible, but not bleed across to other colours until a few minutes exposure.

Compressed air is handy for many things (you can use it to run a spraygun, too!) and I think using a tack rag to remove sanding dust would be a way of quickly going through tack rags.

Another process could be to cut and route the piece to shape, coat with normal shellac at half strength as a sanding sealer, sand it smooth, blow it off and then apply the final finish.

[PaulWG]

Thanks again Splinter! I'll give mineral turps a try. I suspect you're right about the veneer dyes responding differently to solvent. I'll experiment with diluting.

re: shaping - sanding - shellac - sanding - finish. I think that sounds good, provided I can find a shellac that doesn't tint the stock at all.

Will post some pics when I have something I'm happy enough with :)

[Black Ned]

I believe Splinters sugestion of using a router would be ideal. make a template, rough cut to shape, trim to size with the router.
you may find this will give you faster output, consistent shape, and solve the staining problem.
hope this is of use, regards, Ned

[Arron]

Hi Paul,
I do a lot of sanding of coloured timbers laminated together, and after lots of experimentation I found I've pretty much solved your problem by two things:

1. very efficient dust extraction. I realise you are probably hand sanding, but I was never able to get a clean result sanding by hand. This is because the sanding dust is trapped beneath the sand paper and driven across and into the grain of the contrasting timber. Once its been driven in, its pretty impossible to get it all out - as you have found. I find that using a machine sander and attaching a strong shop vac does the trick - the sanding dust is removed through the holes of the sander immediately it is created so it doesn't get to contaminate the other timbers.

2. as the splinter says, seal before you sand. Seal with a coat or two of sealer, sand, and the dust is much less likely to penetrate the timber. After you have sanded, you probably still need to seal again, then proceed to finish coats.

Mostly though, its the dust extraction that has worked for me.

If I was finishing these by hand I would probably use a sanding sealer, followed by wipe on poly (Minwax). You need quite a few coats but its quick to apply and hard to do wrong. If you make a lot of things like this and you ever get access to a compressor, then use spray lacquer. There is a reason why most people manufacturing timber objects use spray lacquer of one type or another - its profit.

cheers
Arron

[PaulWG]

Thanks for that Ned. I'm happy with the shaping process I've got for now, but will no doubt look at using a router further down the track.

[PaulWG]

Thanks for that Arron. Aye, sanding by hand. Plan on switching to a belt sander soon for tidying up saw marks etc, but I'll still need to do finer sanding by hand because of shapes I'm dealing with.

Sealing before sanding makes sense now, thanks all for the input. I'll have a look at shellac products.

And yep I'm leaning towards a wipe-on poly. For the sake of productivity it's a trade-off between efficiency and quality of finish. Hopefully I can get the finish I'm after with just a couple of coats of wipe-on poly + sanding.

[Arron]

Not knowing the shapes you are dealing with makes it hard to advise, but the two sanders I would be looking at are a faceplate sander and a random orbital sander. Belt sanders are for rough work. If the things you showed the image of are an example then you could do the whole thing with the ros, except the hole through the middle - use a drill mounted sanding drum for that.
Also, by using a high quality sawblade you may be able to eliminate the sawmarks. After using Cmt blades for years I upgraded to a Flai blade and the difference is amazing - longgrain cuts come off the saw feeling like glass - no need for sanding at all. It all costs, I know, but if you are making these things to sell then you are better off chucking some money in at the start and getting the costs (ie labour) right down and sales up at the begining rather then drip feeding yourself as you go on - i can say that from experience.
Cheers
Arron

[PaulWG]

I'll be using a belt sander for shaping the angled edges on things like this:

http://blog.modernvintageattic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/necklaces2.jpg

(http://thegreenbeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Recycled-Skateboard-Bangle.jpg)By sawmarks I was referring to scroll saw marks. I started out using cheap blades, and within a day invested in better quality ones. Made a world of difference. Same with hole saws.

Thanks again
Paul

[Arron]

Ok, i get it now. The belt sander actually does both the shaping and finishing. They look good, you'll do well.
Cheers
Arron

[PaulWG]

Having changed my sanding technique (still by hand though) I'm getting much less cross-veneer sanding-dust contamination, so good news there.

Also, I've been using an aerosol, gloss, clear acrylic to seal and the results are good so far. Dries fast (~30 minutes between coats), and I'm getting the look I want with just 3 coats. Success me thinks :)

I'm getting very close to having completed pieces which I'll post in the relevant place.

My goal is to sell jewelry made from recycled skateboards and donate a portion of the proceeds to local and international charities. My first donation will be going to the Philippines for disaster recovery supplies. So thanks again all who have given me pointers; know that you're input has gone some way to helping others out too.

Cheers,
Paul