Well, I have been experiencing a lot of trouble with my website over the past week or tw0. The nice folks at Inmotion Hosting and WordPress have been giving me lots of technical support to try and fix the issue, but it’s been rough going. I have attempted to publish this post countless times. It is showing up on my webpage, but the email notifications and the link on unpluggedshop.com never seem to go out. I hope this one finally works.
Here goes:
In an earlier post, I wrote about applying hot Danish Oil to the vise chops of my workbench. Ralph Boumenot over at The Accidental Woodworker, posted a comment asking me to post before and after photos, so Ralph, this post is for you.
At the end of the earlier post, I had this photo, which shows the four vise chops after just one coat of Danish Oil. (The oil was still wet in this picture).
The four vise chops after the first coat of oil.
I sanded in the second coat with 220 grit paper, the third with 320 grit, and the fourth with 400 grit paper. I allowed a day or two in between each coat. By the time the fourth coat was dry, I was left with an incredibly smooth surface that had taken on a dull but even luster.
After the fourth coat, I went away on vacation for two weeks.
The large vise chops after 4 coats of Danish Oil.
The four coats left a nice even dull luster.
The fourth coat of oil was applied with 400 grit paper.
The Danish Oil had cured for two weeks before I added any wax.
A couple of months ago I was in my local hardware store and they had a clearance bin up front with a bunch of stuff in it. I saw this can of paste wax, and as it was only about $3, I snatched it up quickly. I just checked, and it is available on amazon but costs about $13.
Trewax Mahogany Paste Wax.
With the danish oil well cured, I decided to give the vise chops a coat or two of wax. I applied an even coat with a clean rag and let it sit for a little while. I originally thought to apply the mahogany wax only to the mahogany wood and use a regular clear paste wax for the douglas fir, but I quickly discarded this idea as too tedious. Besides, as you can see below, the mahogany wax is not very dark at all and just sort of adds a warmness to the fir.
I rubbed on an even coat with a clean rag.
I applied the same wax to both the mahogany and the douglas fir.
I buffed the wax off the vise chops thoroughly, and decided that they would benefit from a second coat. After the second coat was buffed, they looked great.
Two coats… and done.
I think that they look a little shinier in the above photo than they do in real life, but I am very happy with how they turned out. So happy, in fact, that I think I will coat the entire workbench base (not the top for obvious reasons) with a coat or two when all is said and done.
It seems the longer this workbench project goes on, the slower I am getting. I hope to wrap it up soon though.
More soon.
– Jonathan White
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