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Location: NJ | I know we have some resident woodworkers here, so I thought I'd ask for some advice . . .
I'm finally getting around to organizing my music room in the new place. One of the projects in the master plan was to get the guitars up on the wall.
With the recent arrival of a couple of guitar-"houseguests", I wanted to get as much as I can safely up on the wall and just use the stands for whatever one or two guitars I need to have immediately on hand.
I bought a nice piece of 1"x6"x8' red oak that'll allow me to mount 5 "OffTheWall" heavy-duty guitar hangers (3 screws each) on the wall with just putting four screw-holes in said wall.
ANYWAY . . .
I've got all the neccesary holes pre-drilled, and will do the final sanding tonight. I wanted to a simple finish to the oak before going about mounting the hangers to it and then screwing it to the wall. Not wanting to deal with the mess/smell of stain and poly/varnish finishes, I'm looking to go with just finishing the oak off with tung oil.
Any tips/suggestions?
(...light application of 0000 steel wool between coats, . . .yada. . . yada)??
Just thought I'd tap into whatever "expertise" is available here . . .
Thx!!
c. |
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Posts: 13997
Location: Upper Left USA | How about a warm-up until the Pros show up. CharlieB has been coaching me as I asked him about refinishing a solid body. Mostly I am hearing that the label on the can means little over the contents. If you are thinking about Tung Oil you might want to check with Realmilkpaint.com and pick up the pure Tung Oil.
I like the idea of the tung oil because it can be freshened up or repaired any time. Since it’s used on some necks it seems an appropriate material as well.
It also looks cool. |
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Location: Germantown, MD | Light application of 0000 between coats sounds good, especially if there are a lot of coats. People I've talked to (furniture makers) say that the best bet is to start with very small amounts--maybe a dime- or quarter-sized amount for a foot of your red oak board--and rub it in well. The warmth from your hand and friction thin the oil and it penetrates better to bring out the grain. It may also cause the grain to swell a bit, which is one of the reasons for 0000 between coats.
Peace,
John |
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Posts: 338
Location: Toronto | Hey Cliff - I suppose it's all a matter of preference. I personally don't like hand finishing oak - I find the grain to big and get very frustrated with amount of work and don't enjoy doing it.
Rather I do like using water-based varnish on oak. I find that it covers the wood easily, dries quickly, has no smell and very little clean-up... |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | I've had excellent luck finishing OAK mirror frames, picture frames and molding with DANISH oil. It's a wipe on, and looks beautiful. Just follow the directions on the can and you CANNOT go wrong. Get the untinted variety and let the wood be natural. I guarantee. |
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Posts: 389
Location: RI. That small State out East | Hi Cliff:
Nothing quick about "Tung" oil... Small amounts and 0000 steel wool and another application and...
By the 3rd or 4th coat... 3 or 4 days you have something.
Wait a year and do it again... Very nice results!
Just lots of time.
I think a clear water base product will give you what you are looking for. This weekend.
Woz |
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Location: San Bernardino, California | One thing I've learned is NOT to apply tung oil when the humidity is real low. It drys faster than it penetrates the wood. |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | unlike tung oil, once the danish oil finish is done, it's done. |
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Location: Florida | Whatever works... danish oil is ok.
Keep in mind that red oak will not stain evenly.
I think I'd do danish oil or tung oil. Both easy to apply. Probably danish would be best... as you're not really wanting a finish buildup, just some color perhaps and some bit of "finish".
Nice thing with danish, is although it wont build up a heavy finish (or at least the stuff in the home depot stores wont), you can easily add or retouch it as you need to... so a once a year wipe with soaked rag is about all you need there... and you dont have to take the rack down, just sorta... give it a wipe.
Tung will take much longer to finish, and will build up thickness.
I ought to add too there is tung oil and there is TUNG oil.
REAL tung oil is not the crap you get in the can at home depot made by Minwax or Formby. Those are polyurethane with "some oil added". They are not the real thing.
REAL tung oil is pleasant smelling, nutlike, very smooth and creamy to the touch... you'll want to apply it with your bare hands. It cleans up well, and hardens by oxidation, not evaporation, therefore is not temp/humidity sensitive (at least in any degree of normal use.. I mean applying it in a blizzard or hurricane is probably not the best).
REAL tung oil is the bomb, its great. Dont get too much, it goes a long way, and keeps a bit poorly over the long term unless you're careful to get ALL the air out of the squeeze bottle. Unlike other finishes that get a skin in the can or bottle and become useless, Tung oil skin can be cut off, and the rest of the oil is fine (its just wasteful thats all).
Seems like only woodworkin' suppliers sell REAL tung oil. Read the can. If it doesn't say 100 percent pure tung, forget it. If it says anything about petrol distillates, forget it. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | You could always just get a can of car wax and just rub it up a little. I got some of the Warwick beeswax left from when we sold them and it works great. It's what they used to finishh the basses.
Funny that you have to have a board made that holds 5! I'm doing the same thing here! but here there will be a top and bottom for a total of 10. Our friend is doing it from golden oak, a 5"x 81" board, and putting a 1/2" inch rope binding of maple and walnut all around it with the 5 dowels mounted 18" apart. I think he's using the golden oak min wax stuff from the can. The guitars will hang from the dowels using those Levy straps I mentioned in the other post. |
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Location: Florida | By the way.... wax by itself DOES work very well.
Thats my SG special with the faded finish. It reminded me of the finish on "Lincoln Logs". But I've waxed it a few times with Butchers Boston Polish (suggested for Ovation necks too). You can see the difference here when I took off the pickguard to get measurements for fitting P90's to another SG. |
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Location: Upper Left USA | I think I've been struck with a new form of GAS. It's the kind that makes you want to build them instead of buying them! |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Forgot about wax. :eek: Just plain Butchers wax will work too. that's probably the simpliest, but the danish oil looks nice and does give better resistance to moisture. |
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Location: NJ | Bill;
My original plan was to put 6 hangers on the board. Then I started to take into consideration the guitars' "safe proximity" from one another, and how the hangers locations would coincide with the four mounting points 16" apart (and visual aesthetics thereof). I opted for going with 5 at 23" apart. Maybe I'll hang the Chinese Dobro on another wall with the 6th hanger . . .
I'll probably end up with the Danish oil and the Butchers' Wax (forgot about that stuff!!). It's going on a wall in a room that's done in it's original circa. 1976 paneling which is still in great shape (just fugly). I'm not overtly concerned with decor coordination, I just wanna get 'em up off the floor and up on the wall so that I can allow Sylvia (the cleaning lady) down there to vacuum . . .
THANKS! for all the input/advice, guys!! |
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Location: Florida | boston polish is amber, and better for dark woods, whilst butchers regular wax is the same stuff but white for light woods
using white on dark woods leaves white streaks in the grain
similarly using amber on VERY light wood can darken it a bit |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Is it OK for a vegetarian to use Butchers wax? |
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Location: NJ | . . . as long as I don't wax my SmartDog with it . . |
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Location: Upper Left USA | "I'm not overtly concerned with decor coordination"
Cliff, I emailed Paige-whats-her-name from Invading Spaces or While You Were Unconscious (whatever?) and she's coming over to discuss your new look!
She said she might bring some of the guys from the Effette Carpenter's Union and a couple of strays from that Wierd-Eye on the Straight Guy show. I suggest you cover the mullet and hold on to your vegetables!
And be firm - no mauve!
I vote for the tung. |
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Location: Yucaipa, California | Is it OK for a vegetarian to use Butchers wax?
...only if it's from the ears of Vegetarian Butchers... :eek: |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Note to Self:
. . pick up Q-Tips. |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Project Progress Report:
Made a last-minute change of plans.
No oil of any kind, just a very well-rubbed waxing with Butcher's Wax.
I had mentioned in a previous post (I believe it had something to do with waxing necks)
that when I was a kid, my mom used to use Butcher's wax on our wood floors (which if
I can recall correctly, MAY have been oak). Mom came from Western Pennsylvania from
strong, Russian-immigrant stock, and it was her belief that the ONLY way that you properly
wax a floor was on your hands and knees, rubbing-in Butcher's Wax with a rag . . . which
was how SHE always did it. This subsequently led to goodly amounts fun by (a MUCH younger)
YoursTruly sliding great distances on heavily-stocking'd feet (along with a couple "knots" on the Noggin') . . . .
I lost Anna last Friday afternoon when she finally succumbed to the ravages of Alzheimer's at age 79.
Spent late Friday night (and early Saturday morning) down in the garage with a bottle of iced Stolichnaya
and had a good cry while Mom and I rubbed a piece of nicely sanded oak to a lustrous shine.
Mounted the hangers, and got it up on wall where I now have five less guitars congregating on the floor
(". . .pick up your toys! . . ").
It doesn't exactly "go" with the fugly 70's panelling (nothing does), and it's not really how I had initially
"envisioned" it, . . but I think she woulda' liked it . . so it's definitely a "keeper".
Thanks for all the Help. |
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Location: Upper Left USA | Sorry for your loss Cliff.
Glad you had an opportunity to grieve and pour your memories into a lasting part of your life. |
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Location: SoCal | Amen. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Sorry Cliff
Vodka is always good for that
That guitar hanger just got a whole lot more special.
Nose Drove Ya. |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | On a Side Note:
When I completed/hung my hanger, I discovered (much to my dismay) that when I started to hang the guitars, the 12-string necks were MUCH too tight . . .
It was then that DimWit(me) decided to read the fine print on the lable for the individual guitar hangers. . .
Seems that there's a different model for 12-strings & 5-string basses (which of course I did not see or buy).
Contacted the manufacturer
www.offthewallmusic.com
and the nice young chap was so impressed that I'd go through the effort to track them down, that he's sending me two of the wider hooks that'll accept the 12-string necks. The hooks are "keyholed" so I can easily remove 'em and change the configuration without dismantling anything.
Nice guy that makes a good product.
(in fact he makes his living with just this ONE product).
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Location: Las Cruces, NM | Cliff
Great story and deep condolences, many Russian and Ukranian refugees settled in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania where I grew up. My aunt married a german, Harry Casbohn, who had a big farm in western Pennsylvania where I spent many months dairy farming in the german way with my cousins. My uncle was very strict, and had no tolerance for laziness, they were very successful and produced a lot of milk, and pork (butchered every year), and grain, and corn, and pickles (there was a pickle plant in Springboro that we delivered cucumbers to in season), and maple syrup each spring. I had to go live with them when my mother was in the hospital for almost a year with TB, and it was something of an adventure as my cousins were in their late teens "batching" on various farms in the area where they would live on the farms in a bachelor cottage and milk cows and farm the lease. It was where I learned to smoke, dip snuff (mostly Copenhagen wintergreen), but not to cuss as they were somewhat religious.
They were entrenched country music fans and had some old guitars laying around that I learned a few chords on. The best thing my aunt had was a wind up Victrola on the porch with stacks of Gene Autry, and other 30's and 40's cowboy singers, that I listened to for hours, cranking and listening, changing steel needles and sharpening the worn needles.
Oh, and last but not least, at every holiday they hosted family get togethers that were, no matter the times good or bad, the epitome of the cliche of presenting a table as a "Groaning Board". In the depths of WWII rationing, we feasted as they had maple sugar (sugar was rationed), plenty of home grown meat (meat was rationed), pies (home grown fruit), scrapple, head cheese, even squirral and quail and venison(I never quite adapted to game). But very little store bought victuals like ice cream, we made ice cream with a freezer.
Good people those Pennsylvania Dutch, and many, many refugees from the Ukraine and Russia lived in that area and prospered in the same traditions.
Bailey |
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Tung My Wood