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- Thread starter bowjock
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Well, as I understand them:
Burnishing is a term applied to the process when an item that is harder than the piece being burnished is rubbed repeatedly thus imparting a smooth surface to the item being "burnished". Burnishing is not sanding or scrapeing; as sanding and scraping usually mean the removal of material. Burnishing is the smoothing of a surface to remove very small imperfections without removal of material.
Wiskering usually refers to the removal of very fine wiskers of wood that are typically left behind after sanding specific types of wood. Poplar is a wood that often retains some whiskers after sanding. To get rid of whiskers you are often required to "fix" them by applying a light coat of varnish or shellack. This coat set them up and seals the wood. Then you lightly sand with very fine paper and cut off the whiskers. The finish.
Carding is a procees most often referring to in the cleaning and straightening of virgin wool fibers. You comb the wool between two sets of wool combs ( they look like file cards - the ones for cleaning metal files)repeatedly until the fibers are striaght and ready to spin into yarn.
Burnishing is a term applied to the process when an item that is harder than the piece being burnished is rubbed repeatedly thus imparting a smooth surface to the item being "burnished". Burnishing is not sanding or scrapeing; as sanding and scraping usually mean the removal of material. Burnishing is the smoothing of a surface to remove very small imperfections without removal of material.
Wiskering usually refers to the removal of very fine wiskers of wood that are typically left behind after sanding specific types of wood. Poplar is a wood that often retains some whiskers after sanding. To get rid of whiskers you are often required to "fix" them by applying a light coat of varnish or shellack. This coat set them up and seals the wood. Then you lightly sand with very fine paper and cut off the whiskers. The finish.
Carding is a procees most often referring to in the cleaning and straightening of virgin wool fibers. You comb the wool between two sets of wool combs ( they look like file cards - the ones for cleaning metal files)repeatedly until the fibers are striaght and ready to spin into yarn.
Very well put, Chet -
The trick behind burnishing is that instead of removing material, the surface is actually polished (or perhaps smeared?) into smoothness. Think of damp clay. If not dead flat, little bumps (like on a pickle) will prevent ultimate smoothness. Sandpaper or other abrasives would remove material much like a knife cutting the bumps off. Unfortunately, it also removes more material from the surrounding surface as well.
Burnishing is like taking a round rolling pin to the damp clay pickle bumps and pushing them down, or smearing them flat.
When I "whisker" a stock, I apply a little mosture. A damp rag or a light steaming from a kettle tends to make the whiskers of cut wood rise up. One can then sand or scrape them off. Scraping provides a smoother finish, and is more "old-timey" IMHO. Some builders use "broken glass" scrapers,
some like steel scrapers.
When Carding a rust-browned barrel (as Chet described it), one can use an abrasive like a file card or very short wire brush or steel wool to stroke the heavy rust chunks off whilst leaving the brown colored steel behind.
At least, that describes my pitiful understanding of it LOL!
best
shunka
The trick behind burnishing is that instead of removing material, the surface is actually polished (or perhaps smeared?) into smoothness. Think of damp clay. If not dead flat, little bumps (like on a pickle) will prevent ultimate smoothness. Sandpaper or other abrasives would remove material much like a knife cutting the bumps off. Unfortunately, it also removes more material from the surrounding surface as well.
Burnishing is like taking a round rolling pin to the damp clay pickle bumps and pushing them down, or smearing them flat.
When I "whisker" a stock, I apply a little mosture. A damp rag or a light steaming from a kettle tends to make the whiskers of cut wood rise up. One can then sand or scrape them off. Scraping provides a smoother finish, and is more "old-timey" IMHO. Some builders use "broken glass" scrapers,
some like steel scrapers.
When Carding a rust-browned barrel (as Chet described it), one can use an abrasive like a file card or very short wire brush or steel wool to stroke the heavy rust chunks off whilst leaving the brown colored steel behind.
At least, that describes my pitiful understanding of it LOL!
best
shunka
