I don’t think I’ve ever used that many exclamation marks… ever.
If you are coming to the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool event at Braxton Brewing on Friday or Saturday, look for Don Williams. He’ll be selling his excellent beeswax and mind-blowing polissoirs.
What’s a polissoir? Oh my. Go here and look around. It’s a simple pre-industrial finishing tool that will change your mind about wax finishes.
The polissoirs are handmade in Virginia by one of Don’s neighbors to Don’s specifications and are things of beauty. The blocks of pure beeswax are purified on Don’s farm by him and his wife. The wax is, pardon the expression, the bee’s buzz.
And if you want to learn (a lot) about traditional finishing techniques, just ask Don about his shellac collection….
The show starts both days at 10 a.m. Free admission. Great beer, coffee and conversations about woodworking and tools. What more could you want? A foot massage? Don’t ask me.
Today I applied soft wax to the drawers and carcase of the chest of drawers I recently completed. Because we get so many questions about using the stuff, I shot this short video that demonstrates how I apply it to a carcase.
Note that I am not applying it to the show surfaces of this piece. (I used a slightly different wax for that, which I’ll discuss later.) Soft wax is fine for both interiors and exteriors of furniture, but it excels at lubricating bearing surfaces that are raw wood, adding a little protection, making the wood feel smoother and adding a nice piney smell.
We encourage you to make your own soft wax. It’s not hard. A teen-ager can do it. Heck, a teen-ager does. Katy, my 15-year-old, cooks up soft wax and sells it through her etsy store. There are a few tins there for sale now, but she is going to crank up production on more tonight.
The more I use soap finish, the happier I am with it. But many woodworkers are skeptical. And I applaud that. For too long companies have tried to sell us this, that or the other as the “miracle” finish that is easy to apply and will leave furniture looking like glass.
Well I don’t want my furniture looking like glass. I want it to be subtle and understated.
That’s where soap comes in. It leaves a flat-sheen surface that is soft to the touch. And it’s easily maintained. Today I noticed the top of this 48” x 48” worktable was getting a little scruffy. I whipped out the jar of soap and rubbed some on. Five minutes later I wiped off the excess and the top looked like new again.
Plus my hands were cleaner than when I started.
All the details on a soap finish are in “The Anarchist’s Design Book,” or you can find plenty of recipes online.
My daughter Katy has an entrepreneurial spirit that is similar to when I started selling “bark jewelry” to neighborhood kids at age 10. Unlike me, Katy is committed to making something useful.
During the last few months, Katy and I have been making soft wax, packaging it in 4 oz. tins and selling it in the Lost Art Press storefront. We sold out of her first batch and have been busily making more this month so we can offer it online.
What is soft wax? It’s a traditional beeswax that is mixed with a significant quantity of solvents to create a wax that is soft and dissolves easily into raw wood. It is best used on the insides of drawers or casework. It imparts a softness and a smell that is pleasing. It also helps lubricate drawers and even wooden vise screws in the workshop.
How do you use it? Easy. Wipe the wax on with a clean cloth. The wax will absorb quickly into raw wood. After five minutes, buff the area with a clean cloth. You are done.
The beeswax provides a thin layer of protection against stains and spills. The solvents (particularly the Georgia turpentine we use) imparts a complex and earthy smell to the work.
All the soft wax is made here in my shop in Fort Mitchell with Katy in control. We melt the cosmetic-grade beeswax in a double boiler so it never reaches more than 140° (F). Then she adds the solvents and dispenses the wax into the metal containers using a turkey baster.
After the wax cools, Katy cleans the containers, adds the lid and affixes the label, which she designed herself.
Each tin is $12 plus domestic shipping.
While we hope you will try the soft wax, the bigger hope is that you will see its value and make it for yourself. That’s why we provide the recipe we use here. It easy to make.
If you are interested in trying soft wax before you make some yourself, Katy’s etsy store can be accessed here. She’s made about 40 tins in the last couple weeks. If we sell out, she’ll make more.
Thanks in advance for your business and your patience as Katy launches her first business.
In addition to the Milk Paint appendix in the “The Anarchist’s Design Book” there are a few more resources that the new milk painter might find useful:
Chapter 25 on Finishing in “Chairmaker’s Notebook” by Peter Galbert, available from Lost Art Press.
Peter’s blog Chair Notes has tons of information including this article on using milk paint, “Bullet Proof Finish.”
Chris recently completed a DVD for a bookcase where he covers the use of milk paint. The DVD (or dowload) is available from Popular Woodworking.
For the adventurous painter and finisher:
Brian Anderson, our compatriot in France, experimented with a milk paint recipe and reported his results in “The Mad Chef’s Milk Paint Gets A Shellacking” post here.
A big thank you to Richard Byrne and Ryan Mooney for providing a wealth of links to painting and finishing resources in yesterday’s post, “Milk Paint – A Short History.”
