Frugal Woodworking

Woodworking Tips for Affordable Woodworking

Category : Finishing

Hardwax Shootout Winner – Odie’s Oil

I’ve been seeing a lot of maker sites featuring both Osmo Polyx and Rubio Monocoat finishes (hardwax oils).  They seem to go nicely with the live edge tables that are so popular today.  I imagine these companies are doing a good job reaching out to the makers because it seems like an effective effort.  I’ve also seen some examples of Odie’s Oil and and it looks like a similar product only with less marketing flair.  I was on the fence and was leaning toward Rubio, only because it seemed like more makers were featuring it.   Then I ran across this series of 4 videos by Blacktail Studio that test out hardwax finishes each of 4 different ways.

  1. appearance
  2. water damage
  3. coffee damage
  4. dye

Odie’s oil came out as the clear winner among the tests.  How does this relate to frugal woodworking?  These products are similarly priced, but spending money on the best one is where the smart money is.

Appearance

 

14 hrs Standing Water

Coffee Stains

Dye

 

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Non Grain Raising Dye from Tea

This post speaks right to the heart of frugal woodworking. The woodworker addresses how to make a dye from tea and alcohol that is fast drying and will not raise the grain of your wood. Technically I guess it is both a stain and a dye since since the tannins in the tea will actually change the color of the wood, and the other colors in the tea act more like a stain. Either way it is a great idea.

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No wining over wasted polyurethane

This is a brilliant tip for not wasting your investment in polyurethane by having to throw it away.  Don’t let it go bad and you won’t need to throw it away.   Store it in boxed wine system…. and you get to drink the wine too.

americanwoodworker.com/blogs/tips/archive/2009/10/20/finish-on-tap.aspx

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Blotch Control

Using less expensive wood to build a project is usually thought of as fine as long as the project is not meant to be attractive.  Many woodworkers love to use Poplar because it is relatively inexpensive and machines well with hand or power tools.  The problem is when it comes to finishing, it is prone to blotching and its green tinted heartwood makes people avoid using it.    Thanks to Charles Neil Precolor conditioner (aka Blotch Control), that is no longer a problem.

For the purchase of a $13 can of his Blotch Control, you can save much more than $13 by using poplar for your projects, even the ones you want to look good.  This stuff goes on first, and makes it so you can use a stain or dye to get a nice even color on poplar (or any other woods).

Here is the video of Charles Neil demonstrating all the different aspects and the results

Even if you are not using something fancier than poplar, this is still a frugal investment because it will keep blotching of the wood from ruining the project for you.

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