Need advice finishing an African rosewood & birdseye maple box

I'm working on my first big project at the moment, and it's coming along ok, although I've had a few hicups :P It's a box with rosewood sides and a birdseye maple lid inset, measuring about 300x350x18 (LxWxH).

http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/2...ood20uh.th.jpg

http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/3...eye47um.th.jpg

I haven't done any finishing at all before, and I'm on a tight time budget; I need to get this finished in the next six days.

I've been having a google and reading some past threads on this forum, and it seems like staining the rosewood is a no-no, but something like Danish oil is good. I'm assuming I'll need to grainfill the rosewood as well? What do I need to do to prepare the surface to finish it? What about the maple?

I'm basically after something quick and easy to apply so that I can get it done right the first time and in time for next Wednesday.

Any advice is appreciated :) Thanks for the help

Sigh; all that work and now you want an instant finish.

DO is a good choice and you can if you must get some grain filling by wet sanding with it. It's durable, easy and you can adjust the gloss level by buffing or not.

On the other hand it will darken your timber somewhat.

If you want min darkening, try several coats of nitrocellulose sanding sealer and finish with a good wax like the Ubeaut Trad wax. Or Ubeaut white dewaxed Shellac, then wax.

Thanks for the advice Ern. I've spent the last hour or two reading up on Danish Oil, and it seems like it's the simplest thing to apply in the world, which is necessary! It seems like it will bring out the figuring in the wood, which is good as well.

I have a few questions about it though...

- Does the amount it will darken the wood depend on the number of coats?
- Most of the stuff I've read recommends 3 or more coats, with 4-6 hours drying between them. Is this accurate?
- You don't use grainfiller with it? Instead you wet sand which mixes it with sawdust and makes a paste that fills the grain fairly well?
- Would it be suitable for use on the maple top as well? I've been reading up on finishing maple too, and it seems like you can end up with some blotchy badness.

Thanks for the help :)

Hi SM,

1. Almost all of the darkening you'll get will be with the first coat.
2. Yes , 3/4 coats, depending on how quickly it soaks in. The more you apply the more filling you get (without wet sanding) since it has body. Wipe or brush on, let sit for a few minutes (but not until sticky) then wipe off the excess.
3. I don't wet sand but some users do. Try a test piece. If you do wet sand you'll get a flatter more glossy surface. I'm a turner and do almost all of my pieces off the lathe without wet sanding. (I like the wood to look like wood; not plakky veneer). With a fairly dense timber you will get a satin finish just buffing with a cloth when its dry. Use a lambswool bonnet or swansdown mop if you want more gloss, or finish with wax and buff.
4. Can't speak about maple sorry, never used it. Any scrap to experiment with?

Carrolls Woodcraft sell Rustin's DO and it would be worth ringing them to get further advice; ditto Len Smith at the Woodsmith who imports the stuff.

I can't emphasise enough the value of testing on scraps.

Hope this helps.

Thanks again Ern, it came out looking great! I'll post pics in the box making forum later this afternoon :) The Danish Oil finish was the easiest thing in the world, and it looks very nice.

(just realised you've already ruined, err finished it - oh well there's always next time....)

I'd be seeing what burnishing with timber or sawdust/shavings does to it before applying anything. Maple comes up a treat burnished and it isn't that difficult. A lot of custom maple instuments are finished in this manner (some with a coat of wax afterwards) and it looks stunningv - see the attached pic for an example of this.

If burnishing doesn't work for you at least you'll have a perfect base for any other finish.

Good news Stick. Thanks for the feedback.