do you put your finish on first or last.

[minowevie]

Hi friends. I read a thing on putting on - a 1/2 and 1/2 mixture of blow and mineral spirats, to the wood , before starting the cutting in one of my old magazines. He said he did the sanding then brushed, on this mixture let it stand for 2 days, then did it again, let it stand again for the time.then taped , and glued the pattern on. then cut the pattern out. my quistion is. has any one done this. and if so, why?? does it keep the wood straight, or what.? I wonder , does this keep the wood from warping? stabale ?? or is it just a step, in the finishing. what about the cutouts. don't they need the finish too. am i missing something. I would say where I read this but dont' wont to get in troubale. for doing so, and or, not doing so. tryed to get a hold of the guy, but with out any reply. can any one help me here. I am thinking of trying this. but need to know why. for sure. thanks Your Friend Evie

[lucky788scroller]

That method makes no sense to me personally.I say yes, the frets do need finish, to control the moisture absorbtion (big word huh evie?). I suppose it could help the wood to stay flat a little bit before its cut, but I would surely re-oil it after cutting. I will follow this one, and see what others think, but as for me, I will continue doing it the way I have been. dale

[Forester21]

Well, I can't see the purpose either? I like to sand my projects when done cutting because there are always fuzzies on the back sides (yes, even when I use a backing board I get fuzzies). So I would end up sanding off the finish.
But - I haven't tried it either, so can't say if it would serve a purpose or not.
Theresa E

[Old Mooner]

Evie--The procedure you describe is the one used by Jeff Zaffino, but he does it after he cuts. Soaking the whole thing after it has been cut gets all the inside areas as well. 1/2 spirits and 1/2 BLO really makes the grain stand out and is a great finish (I have used it) but it takes several days for the BLO to dry well. It will remain "sticky" for up to 72 hours sometimes depending on the humidity. I personally would not do it before cutting.
Moon

[minowevie]

Evie--The procedure you describe is the one used by Jeff Zaffino, but he does it after he cuts. Soaking the whole thing after it has been cut gets all the inside areas as well. 1/2 spirits and 1/2 BLO really makes the grain stand out and is a great finish (I have used it) but it takes several days for the BLO to dry well. It will remain "sticky" for up to 72 hours sometimes depending on the humidity. I personally would not do it before cutting.
Moon

Thanks Moon. I thought so. I was confused buy the impho. I also thought it took longer to dry. Ok another quistion. if i do this on my project i am doing now. can I still glue it all together , after oiling it and waiting for ever to dry?. this project is so big. and I thought, if i did some of the lubing, and finishing first. it would be easyer. but gosh. now am not sure, there is so many pieces. and I wonder, if there is something I can do to make the prosses easyer. I thought if I taped the places that i wonted to glue. that would keep it safe for glueing. does this make sence. or does the oil just seep in. I guess I can do what I have been doing all along. but it is so big. and the dripping of the staining will get all over the place. just a sticky gummy mess. wiping would work. and the blowing it out. but still not the same. well I guess I have you all confused. but I will get it together. I hope. I will get her done. Moon why dont' you live next door?? I could sure use you help on this big babby. love ya. your friend Evie

[Peculiar Fretworks]

Finishing

Hi Evie,
Wow! I am blown away with the detail you all discuss on this group. I see I am going to learn a lot about scroll sawing and finishing by listening to this group.

Your Best Friend
Richard Preator
Peculiar Fretworks

[Rainman2014]

Finish

Evie, Jeff Uses The Oil Blend Because He Likes How It Brings Out The Grain Of The Wood. When I Am Doing One Of Jeffs Works I Completely Finish Mine Before Cutting And Then I Will Put One Last Coat On When Done Cutting Inroder To Get The Inside Cuts. His Patterns Are So Delicate That The Least You Have To Fool With It Afier The Cutting The Better. Question ? When Ebonizing Wood, Are You Guys Talking About A Steel Wool Pad Or Would A 00 Pad That We Use To Rub Out Blemeshes Work ? Looking For Some Help Here. Tks. Rain Man

[Jediscroller]

I never apply the finish before cutting. I do know a few folks apply the finish prior to final assembly on some of the larger clocks and such and use Aleene's Tacky glue to glue the assembly together. I've never done this either, but it does sound somewhat easier. If you're using a spray system however (which I currently don't have but it's on the list) I don't see any advantage to it.
Rain Man, I'm not sure I understand your question. I used what I had in the shop for my ebonizing solution, a 0000 steel wool pad.

[William Young (SE BC)]

Evie.
I agree withy the ones that said it makes no sense to use the BLO/MS before applying the pattern. The pattern (or even tape) probably would not stick to it.
I only use any kind of finish after the project is completely assembled except in the case of staining where I would do that before assembly and all the finish coats after assembly.
W.Y.