Day 75: Finishing the Tests and Preparing the Naturals

The tests of the Tru-Oil on key 51 and my friend's walking stick were nothing short of a complete success.  The finished key 51 next to a key not yet oiled and the buffed out stick are below (the oiled key is on the right in the first photo).

Hey, I never said the walking stick was an elegant project (I call it The Hammer). I knocked it out for my pal about three years ago when he needed it in a hurry. He likes it because he leans on it quite a bit when using it and the handle is wide enough that it doesn't hurt his hand. I also made him a bird feeder out of cedar, but we won't go there. I'm not sure the photo of the keys really portrays how awesome the finished key looks with the Tru-Oil applied; it's pretty great.

Based on how things looked after 24 hours of drying, wiping down with a shop towel and sanding up with #0000 steel wool, I decided to go ahead and prepare all of the naturals for an application of the Tru-Oil. I wanted to keep the oil away from the poplar and the white oak arcades, so I developed what I call the Green Diaper for each one.

Yeah, my wife rolled her eyes, too. Once I got all of the naturals all diapered up, I went ahead and coated them with Tru-Oil and left them on racks to dry. Given the fact it's Valentine's Day weekend, I probably won't get back to them until Sunday because, you know, wife.

Until next time...