I am finished with my wheel! When I got her, she was all packaged neatly in a little cardboard box.
I was really shocked at how light and "blah" the wood looked.
At first I was thinking that I was going to have to stain her to get her to look like anything, but after perusing a few sites, I decided that simple Tung Oil was going to be the way to go.
Now, she came with some SUPER COARSE sand paper. I came across nothing that needed to be with with that. The factory sanded finish was nice enough that I could start with a finer grit.
First I saturated her with the Tung Oil. I just flooded the surfaces with the oil, and sat there and watched as the wood drank the oil in. As the surface went cloudy, I would add more oil. I was feeding the wood, if you will. Once the rate of uptake slowed I would move on to another area, or another piece. paying special attention to the end grains, as they take up a LOT of oil.
Very light, raw New Zealand Silver Beech wood
Same wood after just one coat of plain, low gloss Tung Oil
Days 1 & 2, being careful not to get drips, I applied two, heavy, saturating coats, one coat each day, with 24 hour drying times in between.
Day 3, I sanded every single piece with 320 grit. Took it all back down until it did not shine anymore, wiped everything down with a cloth to take off the saw dust, hi-power vacuumed each piece, then painted on another coat of the oil.
Day 4, sanded with 320, cleaned up the pieces again, and painted with oil.
Day 5, I decided to sand with 00 steel wool, as the spokes, and spindles needed better attention than what they were getting with the sandpaper. After using the steel wool, I took much care in wiping down the pieces, vacuuming them, tack clothing the grabby areas, and re-applying the oil (now in high-gloss because I ran out of low-gloss).
Day 6, sanded with 000 steel wool, took major care in cleaning a vacuuming the pieces, and then re-applied another layer of high-gloss oil with a soft lint-free rag.
Day 7, applied yet another nice, even, streak-less final coat of the high-gloss oil.
Day 8, I was going to hit the whole thing with a 0000 steel wool, but I loved the even satin/gloss finish so much that I decided to leave it alone, and just assemble it. I think the assembly took me about 2 hours.
I am planning on keeping her surface with Lemon Oil wood finish.
She spins like a dream. I still hear some minor rubbing, and clicking in areas, but I know that it is going to take a little time for all of the pieces to wear smooth, adn learn how to rub into one another. I
I originally set her up as SD, but I have been going on DD now, and really like it. I plan to mess around to see if I can tell the difference between all of the ratios and such. Right now though, i am just treadling and having fun with her!
Aside from the two small zip lock baggies that held the hardware ... I LOVE LOVE LOVE how every single bit of the Ashford packing is recyclable! How wonderfully responsible is that?
