A memory piece

[BeckyN]

My friend just lost her mother last week, so I worked all weekend and made her this piece, her mother was a well loved community member, and was known as the Cookie lady for always having fresh cookies every day for the local kids. I hope she loves it!
The back was kind of cruddy, so I scraped it to better wood, let it dry and oiled it a day later than the rest of the piece.

[Brian T]

Good. I believe that your friend will appreciate what you've carved.

I've always admired textured surfaces. Look at a variety of big carvings from the First Nations here in the Pacific Northwest. They often do textured surfaces (with adzes) in several different patterns.
I have done smaller pieces with a shallow gouge or a crooked knife.

The only clear finish that I've used for years is Minwax Tung Oil Protective Finish.
One coat is satin, then coarse steel wool to cut off the fuzzies.
Four coats a week apart is water-wet glossy.

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Becky,
That is a lovely gesture. I'm sure your friend will appreciate it. Nice one!!!!

[joepaulbutler]

I think it is an extreme act of kindness, and will be surely appreciated

[BeckyN]

Thank you all! Is it a norm to sand or steel wool pieces ? I find it takes the shine from the wood, and have only done it btwn oil on a few pieces.
rookie speak, of course!
boiled linseed oil is a lifesaver for the plain pieces, did a side by side of the 2, the tung oil one cracked badly, the linseed oil one barely cracked. Love learning!

[Mark N. Akers]

Becky, what a nice carving, very a very special Lady, i know she will love it.

[uvawyo]

A wonderful tribute It will be much appreciated

[Merle Rice]

Hi Becky , What a SWEET thing to do . Sharing your Talent with a Loved One is Always Special . A Good Thought and Good Job . Merle

[Nebraska]

Very nice of you to do that for your friend.

[Claude]

Great carving and a wonderful gift!

Claude

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Becky,
Sanding or steel wool is fine. It all depends on what sort of finish you are looking for. I like working with woods with figured grain and find to get all the nuances that the grain has to offer that I need to sand right down through the grades to around 1000 grit. Then I buff it with 0000grade steel wool and finally hand buff with a soft cloth.

By the time you have done all of that the wood will have a shine on it that almost looks like it has an oil finish on it. When a finish is put on it the grain looks almost 3 dimentional.

Try it on a small piece of scrap and compare with what you normally do. You may like it you may not. Is worth the try though.

I talked one of the members into doing that with a burl bowl he had made and he was very happy with the end result as itreally bought the burl to life.

If you are looking at painting the piece then I would only go down to about 240 grit paper for a nice smooth finish..

Hope this is of some help.

[BeckyN]

Thank you everyone! She had her send off today, to head south for preparation, we have no facilities here.
My friend gets her piece Friday.
Thank you Glenn, will try that when I get a chance! I have tons of scrap pieces I can play around with. I never paint , too tedious for me lol

[Brian T]

Our local hardware store stocks "Bulldog" brand steel wool in several grades.
The XXX Coarse steel wool has sharp, flat strands, not round. They are big and don't break.
Instead, they act like a million chisels and cut off raised grain AFTER one coat of finish.
Just gentle rubbing, the steel glides over the finish. Your fingertips will tell you when you are done.

As a rule, I don't sand with any grit grade. I sanded during a carving. Some sand grains came off the paper and stuck in the wood. I didn't see them. MY 9/15 gouge hit one and did serious damage to the edge. It took me a long time to repair that. Won't do that again.

[BeckyN]

I have the Bulldog brand, super fine, makes a huge mess and falls apart everywhere. But it could have been old stock!

[Brian T]

That's what I always hear about the super fine stuff = powders easily.
The very coarse is completely different stuff for finishing.
I learned the trick from a journeyman painter, decades ago.
He demonstrated the whole business to me one day.

For the very old-fashioned iron acetate iron/vinegar stain:
2 buns of very fine Bulldog steel wool dissolved in maybe 750 ml ordinary vinegar.
Takes a couple of weeks, lasts for years.