Huon Pine

[ptygmit]

Hi All,

First proper post on here, so hope im sticking this in the right spot...

Im pretty new to woodwork, so far just knocking up pretty shoddy stuff from radiata pine and the like. My inlaws brought back some huon pine discs from a trip to tassie about a year ago, and im having real headaches finishing them.

Im routing out the back to put a clock movement in, and trying to bring up a nice finish on the front so i can see the grain. Was planning on using danish oil (is this a good idea?). The problem i am having is sanding the stuff. It just clogs up the paper real quick, and i cannot seem to get rid of the sanding marks (score marks), no matter how fine i go. So far, down to 400 grit. The wood feels kinda oily? Does this mean it needs to be left to season longer? Or do i just persist with using tonnes of sandpaper and go even finer?

Thanks for any suggestions

Pete.

[ozwinner]

Huon is so fine in grain and so fine to use that I would ditch the sander and hand sand with the grain.
Unless of course you have a piece the size of a house to finish.

Yes it is an oily timber.

Al :)

[mongrell]

maybe its not dry ?

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Wot Al said: hand sand it with the grain.

As to the finish, Huon is such a soft wood that any time it's being used as a decorative wood (and not primarily for it's smell) I use a 2-pack finish just to give it some strength and help protect from future knocks. It's a shame to seal in the smell and 2-pack is far from my favourite finish, but I reckon Danish darkens it too much and doesn't really add any strength. Just my personal opinion, of course.

BTW, sometimes it's so oily that it needs a wipe down with a solvent before applying a finish. If you have any scraps left over, it'd be a damned good idea to try a couple of different finishes on 'em first, to see what works and what doesn't... and then make your choice. :wink:

AFAIK, all Huon for sale now is well seasoned and there won't be any more felled commercially, so it's unlikely it's green. (This is just hearsay mind, I really should do some research to find out if it's fact or fiction. One day, perhaps, when I get a round tuit.)

[dazzler]

I have used RUSKINS brand danish oil and it did not darken the wood and kept the smell.

Ubeaut also have a product that is suitable. Perhaps PM

[ubeaut]

Wash the surface down with methylated Spirits before sanding and this will tale away some of the natural oil. Either that or sand the timber wet using wet and dry abrasive and water or Organoil (available at most Mitre 10 or Bunnings)

The best finish I have found for huon for clock faces is white shellac, followed by wax if you want. The shellac is not affected by the natural oils in the timber. Huon left with an oiled surface tends to get dirty and look pretty awful after a while.

[ptc]

Ubeaut Traditional wax works ok for me.

[ptygmit]

Cheers guys, and thanks for taking the time to reply.

[rsser]

I use cellulose sanding sealer which darkens it no more than water and then ubeaut trad wax.