The Pink Cherry Spinning wheel

No more pink spinning wheel! Yea! After talking with Krystaleve, and a quick stop at a furniture store to show her how the finish could look, we agreed on something a bit less than semi-gloss, but not as flat as a matte finish. Just enough of a shine to make it stand out without being too showy.

For the first round I used some 240 grit automotive wet/dry paper with more of the same finish (Watco Danish Oil Cherry Finish). I lightly applied some finish and went to work with the sanding block until the finish became just slightly pasty. I let that sit overnight, then buffed across the grain with a clean cotton rag. I buff across the grain to remove the excess while avoiding dislodging any of the sawdust (sanding dust actually) and finish that has filled in the pores in the wood.

Now I'm repeating the process with 330 grit and in another few days with 400.

A Bit of Taoist Wisdom

I don't know who created this lovely image; if anyone knows the artist, please let me know so I can give credit where it is due. I do not think this is an actual quote from Lao Tzu, but I agree with the sentiment and like the phrase. I know this is from Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.

Have an awesome weekend!

The Pink Spinning Wheel

I'm in the process of refinishing an old Ashford spinning wheel that my wife, Krystaleve, bought at auction. It has seen a good bit of use, so it needed some TLC before it was ready to go to work.

Before starting, I did some research on the wheel. Ashford wheels are manufactured in New Zealand of New Zealand Silver Beech. The company maintains a pictorial history of their wheels from their original 1938 model through the current 2000 model. By comparing the features I was able to determine that this was the 1975 model manufactured from 1975 through 1981. So this wheel is 26-32 years old. The color is ... interesting. From a distance I thought it was a cherry finish. Up close it looked too orange for cherry, the finish was yellowed and scraped through in several places; where the wood is exposed it has a pinkish tint.

Ok, back to the web to try and figure out what kind of finish and stain was used. Ashford sells the wheels unfinished, with a walnut finish, or with a chery finish. Their cherry looks a lot redder, so this appears to have been an unfinished wheel to which a previous owner added a finish. Neither denatured alcohol nor lacquer thinner had any effect, so it wasn't shellac or lacquer. That leaves either poly or oil. I doesn't have the "placticky" look of poly, so I assume tung or boiled linseed oil.

Never having come across NZ Silver Beech (Nothofagus menziesii for the botanically inclined) before, I was off to Google for a look see. From my reading, the tree is an broadleaf, evergreen, hardwood native (of course) to NZ . This was a new one for me. Having spent most of my life in the northeast US, my exposure to evergreens has consisted almost entirely of conifers. At least anything large enough for wood working. (Next time I watch Lord of the Rings which was filmed in New Zealand, I'll try to remember to look and see if I can spot some Silver Beech.)

The bark of the SB is almost white and the wood varies from "pinkish to reddish brown". Ah, the wood is actually pink! I should have taken some pictures, but we always do have 20/20 hindsight. If you've been around long enough you may remember the old 1960 Crayola crayons "flesh" pink (I think it's called "peach" these days which for the color makes every bit as much sense as "flesh"). Yeah, that kind of pink.

Anyway, a light sanding with 150 followed by 220 gave me a satiny smooth, pink wood. I showed this to Krystaleve and we agreed it needed some sort of stain. Cherry seemed like the best candidate to conceal the pinkness. I'm using Watco Danish Oil Cherry.

At the moment, it's had 2 applications brushed on, wiped off, and let dry 24 hours. Now, I'm trying to decide between working it to a French polish, or going with a matte finish. This has no grain, but it's near the color: