Wood Idea

Black ash plate continued

Good Morning All,
Well, I took the plate downstairs this morning and cut it a little deeper than it was in my last posting and I think it looks and feels much better. Here it is after its been cut down and sanded:


Now for the finish: I make a lot of kitchenware for food preparation and those items always get a food safe varnish or mineral oil and beeswax but for other items, like this plate which is not going to be used for food preparation, I like to use Danish oil. This oil really brings out the grain patterns in wood so a dull looking piece of lumber can often times be spectacular when its oiled and Ive gone ahead and applied a preliminary coat of oil to the top of the plate:


This will take approximately 7-10 hours to dry and then Ill flip it over and oil the backside and then let the whole plate dry for 48 hours. This allows the oil to dry completely and harden. Then Ill place it back on the lathe and polish it and give it a very light coat of beeswax and buff it.

Ill post more pictures when its done. This is basically how dishes are made on a lathe. There are other techniques for producing plates and when I come back Ill talk about an English pole turner who produces plates, bowls, and other turned items the way they were produced in the Middle Ages.

Thanks for stopping by,
Vickie