Ken R Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 Here are some photos of my recent work. All of these pieces are carved from wood that I salvaged from pallets. The first one is walnut the others are cherry. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastián Urresti Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 Hi Ken, Lovely work. Nice curves and shapes. How did you polish them? And another question, when you say pallets you mean like the kind of pallets used in Super Markets and Ships? (According to Wikipedia, "flat transport structure") If so, I love the woods used. I don´t think that we ever get that wood quality on our pallets down here in Argentina... lol Keep the pics coming! Hugs, Sebas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken R Posted January 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 Hi Sebastian, Thank you for your kind words. Yes, all the wood came from shipping pallets. Most of the pallets I get are "fire wood grade", but I do find some nice pieces. I sand my jewelry to 220 grit and apply 2 coats of wipe on poly followed by two coats of finishing wax. I like a low luster finish on wood...wood should look like wood, not plastic. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastián Urresti Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 Hey Ken, I will check the "fire wood grade" to see what is it I do agree that depending on the wood grain 200 grit will do and yup, you are 100% right! Wood needs to look like wood not plastic! Cheers, Sebas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 I kind of shiver when seeing 200 grit sand paper. For my work I desire it to be scratch free. Using boxwood and other very hard, dense woods, 320 and even 400 will leave scratches. Maybe that makes the wood a little more like plastic, but the scratches would be prominent features instead of the shaped surfaces and details. I have not used a kind of finish that would fill and hide such marks, only a thin protective coat of hardening oil for the uncolored pieces. I won't say that your choice is wrong for the nature of the woods that you use. It would be lovely to not have to fuss further with the surface than the initial sanding stage. We are all different and have found our own unique ways to complete the projects being carved. Sharing our experiences here helps to inform others who seek to learn. Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Twilbeck Posted January 25, 2017 Report Share Posted January 25, 2017 I also carve exotic woods for jewelry. The use of sand paper I keep to a minunimum .. My finishing after sanding with 400 and some cloth like 1000 and then I use polishing compound, and finish with carnauba wax. Polish compound can be found at lowes and other hardware runs from black to white, black coarse ,,,white the finest. Use a small rotary polishing wheel. You may be surprised at results. Ebony and pink Ivory wood all polished and waxed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted January 25, 2017 Report Share Posted January 25, 2017 Hi Ed, Does the binder of the finishing compound soak into the wood or bind to it before your choice of finish is applied? Does the abrasive get stuck in the wood grain with the binder? I've not used finishing compound on wood before, can you tell? Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Twilbeck Posted January 25, 2017 Report Share Posted January 25, 2017 Janel on some of the woods it seems like it does go into the wood . What I do is use some chamois wheels to clean of the carving before I finish. Most of my finishing is with carnauba wax, it is a hard block of wax I spin my buffing wheel on the block at a high speed , then go to the carving an apply the wax finish. If I use some type of oil finish after the polishing compound it did not seem to have any effect on the final finish. I have used the min wax wood sheen, after the polishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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