That's only the third picture I took with my new digital camera, so I'm still trying to get good photos. If I can get a better one, I'll post it.
As to what I did...where to begin? This stock probably never should have made it past QC. I had to remove nearly 3/4 of an inch of wood in several places and the cutter marks were so gouged and rough I wonder if they weren't running the machine backwards. :no:
So there was a lot of rasp work on the obscenely high areas, followed by 80 grit, 150 grit, and finally 220 grit sandpaper. I wrapped the paper around a rattail file for the tight round contours, used a sanding block for flats, and hand-sanded the rest.
I didn't use a filler despite the slightly open/porous grain of walnut. (I like the rustic look.) I finger-dipped and palm-rubbed a coat of Lin Speed oil into the stock without cleaning off the dust from the final sanding (that actually did act as a slight filler). As soon as that coat dried I went back over the stock with four ought steel wool. That effectively "whiskered" it...no wetting required. I applied four more coats of Lin Speed, knocking it down with the steel wool after every second coat. The nice thing about this finish is I can add coats and achieve whatever gloss I desire, from shiny to dull, just by leaving it alone or hitting it with steel wool.
:thumbsup:
). So let me have it!
