How to Finish Woods

Here are some of the most commonly used furniture woods with suggested finishes for each. With the materials described above and the rules described here, you can work out many finishes of your own.

Walnut

Hard and porous, walnut always requires filler for a smooth finish. However, if you wish the texture to show, eliminate the filler.

For a natural finish, mix natural wood filler with a little burnt umber. Fill the wood, sand lightly, and finish with two coats of water-white lacquer.

For an antique gray bleached finish, first bleach the wood (use any commercial bleach available for woods), sand until the natural color shows, then use gray filler. Finish with a coat of lacquer or varnish.

For a stain finish, apply the stain, fill the surface of the wood with wood filler that matches the stain, and finish with varnish or lacquer.

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Stain Finishes

Wood is stained to emphasize grain and natural figure. Many professionals use stain when wood has little natural beauty of color or graining. Most stains give the wood surface little or no protection, so you may want to use a protective finish as well.

For proper staining, the wood surface must be uniformly smooth, clean, and free of any old finish or wax. Try to work on surfaces horizontally; when you must work on a vertical surface, work from the bottom up with continuous edge-to-edge stroke paralleling the grain to minimize drips and overlap marks.

Water stains give a clear, sharp tone with deep penetration. They have the broadest range of brilliant, warm-toned colors. Their disadvantage is that they raise the grain and require at least 24 hours drying time.

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Once you have completed the construction of a piece of furniture, you should decide on the type of finish you will give the wood. The most suitable finish depends on two considerations: how tough a surface you want and the type of wood you are using.

Before applying your selected finish to an entire project, try it out on the underside or on a scrap of the same type of wood. You’ll often have to experiment with finishes in order to achieve a uniformly rich appearance over the entire project since many of those shown are made from a combination of woods.

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If you want completely closed storage, you will need by-passing panels. This calls for three stops – one in the center and one on each side. Use a ¼-inch-square strip at the center and ¼-inch round on the sides
If you have a power saw with dado-blade assembly, you can dispense with the stops (which must be nailed or glued) and cut channels directly into cabinet shelves.

A good channel depth for ¾-inch shelving is a 3/16-inch at the top and bottom. Cut the channel 1/16-inch wider than the panel, add 5/16-inch to the height of the opening, and you have the proper height for your sliding panels (this leaves 1/16 clearance for easy sliding).

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Although you can make your own cabinet doors easily enough, you may buy ready-made doors from builders’ supply houses – provided your cabinet frames will accept standard sizes. Stock units come in a variety of facings and styles.

When hanging doors, allow for free movement between matching doors (and around hinges). Some carpenters judge the amount of space needed between paired doors by inserting a paper match between them before setting hinges. Read the rest of this entry »

Some methods for making drawers and runners call for the skill of a professional cabinet maker, but those written here are both simple and sure.

Drawer Construction

Regardless of the construction method, each drawer will normally require the same number and size of grooves and cuts. By standardizing your procedure, you can repeat the same grooves and cuts for several drawers.

Be sure to cut all pieces exactly, and remember to allow 3/32-inch between drawer and frame, so that the drawer will have room to slide. Use ½-inch material for drawer ides and ¼-inch stock for the drawer bottom.

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Threaded rods can also be used to join planks. You need a drill bit long enough to drill through the width of the board, and a doweling jig is almost a necessity for boring straight holes. Drill the hole to a slightly larger diameter than that of the threaded rod. Rods should be at least ½-inch in diameter.

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