Wood/material to practice french polishing on?

[44Ronin]

I recently purchased Neil's polishing handbook......it's an excellent book

However......I figure I'd practice on some spare/scrap/offcut material to get the technique, methods etc., into practice.

The question I ask is what material is good to practice on? Something that will illustrate flaws and problems with technique - something that will honestly show the polishing?

[dr4g0nfly]

Have you got or can you get some vieneer faced plywood, something simple like Sapile (possibly from an old wooden interior door), it can be grain filled for a nice smooth finish to start on and makes a great practice piece.

[RufflyRustic]

Timber to practice on? Why, whatever you have in your offcuts pile. Each timber will be a little different and build your expience in finisihing. If you keep each test piece, make a note of what finish you used, how you applied it and the date as it will end up being a good reference for you for future projects.

cheers
Wendy

[rightendup]

Any fine grained wood will do but the idea is to learn to get an even coat on the field as well as the edges. Get a piece and try and cover all of it well - edges and field.
This Imbuia lid panel is about 6 by 9 inches - a good size to practice on.
I agree with Ruffly- never throw out your off cuts 'til you throw out you tax related materials!
It's a good idea to make your own shellack (of course) and to make different strenghts? - viscosities ? - cuts? - and mark everything as would a chemist.
Using more solvent makes learning easier but yields less deposition. Using a 'thick' medium nessesitates the use of mineral oil.
Though your finish appears 'dry' it is not. After about four or five coats, it is best to wait a day or two to let the surface get thirsty again - and truly hard.
Not a bad idea either is to give yourself a headstart and with a brush, slather your base coat on, let it dry, rub it out and begin with the tampon.
When 'tampon' just rolls off your tongue without inuendo, you'll have probably mastered the technique.