Three coats of BLO and two coats of the Tried and True Original finish, lots of hand buffing and rubbing, the “hardware” installed and I’m calling it done. The oil finish is exactly the look and feel I was after. The only changes I’ll make in the future is the type of BLO that I use. I used the plain-jane hardware store BLO on this. It’s what I had. Actually, I’ve had it for quite some time. If you’ve been reading vary many of my posts, you know I have a goal to use only non-toxic substances/finishes in my shop. The hardware store BLO contains heavy metal driers. Not a huge issue but still doesn’t meet my requirements for non-toxic. I’ll be ordering a supply of chemical free BLO for future use. The Tried and True product does meet my non-toxic requirement and the addition of beeswax in this product makes for an excellent finish coat. Just the right amount of low luster I was looking for. The general idiom for oil finish is as follows”
“One coat a day for a week, one coat a month for the first year and one coat a year from there on.”
I’m off to a good start. Five coats of oil at this point and I’ll add additional coats over the next year. I doubt I’ll be on any kind of fixed schedule though. Just add a coat when the mood strikes me.
With the last coat of oil buffed out, I began installing my “hardware”. The knobs are all four-strand star knots hand-tied from #72 tarred nylon twine. These are then hardened with coat of CA glue. Installation is pretty easy. Thread the tag ends through the hole, secure with a wall knot, lock it down with CA glue and trim off the excess. The sliding door pulls take a little more work. For these I used #36 tarred nylon and braided it through the holes that I had previously added to the sliding door panels. There is nothing difficult about it, just a little tedious. It does produce a nice effect and provides just enough of a finger catch to operate the sliding door.
On with the dog and pony show.
This piece is a milestone for me. I consider it the best work I have done to date. A turning point. This is not meant to be braggadocios but a personal retrospective. Up to now I have considered everything I have done to be categorized as handy and/or crafty. This piece is the first that I consider to be proper furniture and truly my own. It’s a beginning with vast room for improvement. I designed it and drafted all of the plans for its construction. I executed those plans to the best of my ability. Limited as they may be. My years of studying knot tying resulted in the “hardware”. The kolrosing decoration that I added is a further result of my trying and developing of new and different skills.
This piece tells my story in wood, twine and incised lines. It’s fitting that it will be my personal cabinet. It will contain within it the tools and the bits and pieces that I treasure and use to express myself. The story is mine and maybe I’m the only one who will ever be able to read it in this Hillbilly Tansu, but it’s there non the less.
My apologies for the philosophical tangent. I hope that you have enjoyed following my progress as much as I have enjoyed sharing it.
p.s. I like cherry!
Greg Merritt
