Finish for Silky Oak, Oregon, Pine Table

[Geoff123]

Hi all, I am making up an 8 seater table. The top is two year old slabs of silky oak, the frame from some 80 year old recycled Oregon and the legs from recycled (what appears to be ) radiata pine.

Shellac appears to pull all the elements of the three species together. However before finishing I will need to fill some cracks (shakes, I think) in the silky oak.

Im thinking about using polyester resin flowed into the cracks and sanded back. Any thoughts on how this may affect the final shellac finish? Or is there a better product to apply to the fill the cracks?

Thanks Geoff.image.jpg

[Geoff123]

I found a previous 2007 post by Curmudgeon who put up a link to here:
damnfinefurniture
i recon I might give this method a go then polyurethane over the top to give it some gloss. Also the poly should be comparable with the resin filler in the cracks. Hmmmm.

[LGS]

Hi Geoff,

This would be Curmudgeon here. You probably won't need to use Poly after you see the result of the burnishing. It's quite impressive!

Regards,

Rob

[12bolts]

Hi Rob,

Just had a look at your step by step in the link provided above, (thanks Geoff). "Impressive", comes to mind!
How resistant to water stains is the burnished finish. Will it stand up to regular use on a tabletop?

Cheers Phil

[LGS]

Hi Phil,

Thank you.

I have a Kitchen work bench which is burnished and it resists (as in no marks) steam, water, food spills, the lot. I also have my dining table burnished and that works a treat. Have had a number of dinners on that and it still looks beautiful. Here's a pic of it.
Have a look at this thread, particularly post #32 and #35, which detail tests on burnished Red Gum using several different oils, in which water and red wine were liberally added to the surface for some time.

In general, where food safety is not an issue, I use Wattyl Natural Teak Oil (Scandinavian) for this process. Takes a little less time and gives a brilliant finish.

Regards,

Rob

[12bolts]

Rob,
Thats pretty interesting info there in that link. Thanks for that, although you ought to be ashamed of yourself for using a Koonunga Hill in that test. I am sure a cask red would have sufficed.
I would be interested in your input here https://www.woodworkforums.com/f9/slab-table-top-179505/ if that is your area at all.
Apologies to Geoff for hijacking your thread

Cheers Phil

[Geoff123]

Hi Phil, no problem about hijacking. Helps keep the thread alive. Cheers Geoff

[Geoff123]

Blemish before buffimage.jpgIng.


image.jpg

[LGS]

Hi Geoff,
The more I look at it, the more I think it might just be due to variation in the grain of the Silky Oak. If you can remember, did the oil have a different pattern on some areas as opposed to the whole table. It might be a case of adding a bit more oil to those bits while you're oiling and maybe a little more attention to them while you are sanding. But the overall result looks great.

Regards,

Rob

[Geoff123]

A couple of pics after buffing.

image.jpgimage.jpg

[Geoff123]

Hi Rob,
i can't remember any specific areas that were thirstier than others. The whole table top took up 2/3 litre before there were any signs of puddling.
cheers Geoff.

[Geoff123]

My Blog: Ok .. that's It... Table Done.

[LGS]

Beautiful work, Geoff.

Regards,

Rob