Hello all,
The first of my home-grown storage boxes is taking shape, and if I am going to put any kind of finish on the inside surfaces, I should do it soon.
It looks to me as though people typically finish the outside surfaces and leave raw wood (poplar in my case) contacting the oily tooling. Is that what you recommend? I am thinking of using an oil finish on the outside.
Bill
I'm no woodworker so take my advise with a grain of salt. Poplar is pretty soft and I'd go with a hard varathane coating of some sort to protect it from minor knocks.
Wood breathes and moves so anytime any finish is put on one side then the same finish should be put on the reverse side to combat cupping and twisting caused by moisture absorption at different rates between the two sides. Dick
Ditto Varathane... best stuff ever invented!
Hi Bill:
My storage boxes are made out of popular. I use SAE 30 non detergent motor oil on the outside and inside. Just rub it in.
Bill
...and if you want a darker color, run it through a crankcase first. :^) --Glenn Lyford
...and if you want it black, run it through a diesel crankcase.
I'm a master cabinet maker , and my advice is to finish it inside with the same type of finish you plan on using for the outside . The reason for that is to control moisture absorption . With the same type of finish in and out , the wood absorbs equally on both surfaces , and maintains balanced internal stresses . Leave a raw piece of wood on a (very) wet surface and you'll understand ...
And for a machinist tool box, what would you personally recommend for a finish?
Steve.
Steve, Jim,
That's the real question. I would rather destroy a box I made largely for practice than do any damage to my collets. FWIW, the box that came with my starter endmill set has some kind of varnish on the outside and bare wood inside. I lean toward oil finish, but have some concerns about it or anything more modern being in contact with oily collets.
Bill
If you want traditional, go with shellac. Nothing in that that will react with metal or attract moisture. I've used Deft's Clear Wood Finish, which is a lacquer modified for brushing. You can also get it in a spray can but it takes a lot of spray to build up a good finish. It also dries quickly. I've had a case I made out of luan door skin finished with Deft for over 20 years with my Starrett combination square inside, no rust, no ill effects and the case still looks good despite some rough knocks. One thing about either of these is that surfaces can be touched up and the new finish will bond to the old with no problems, not the case with polyurethanes or some spray enamels.
Stan
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.