Author Topic: Osage stave shellac ?  (Read 3398 times)

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Offline Stick Bender

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Osage stave shellac ?
« on: November 05, 2016, 09:32:41 am »
Hi Fellas. I'm chasing a ring down on a 9 month off the stump stave this morning & would like to leave the back natural if possible VS. Putting on shellac , at what point in a osage stave life off the stump is it safe not to seal the back ? I have had this one inside for the last month .
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Offline SLIMBOB

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Re: Osage stave shellac ?
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2016, 09:43:15 am »
Never in my opinion.  I did a belly split off a stave that had been drying for years.  The top piece was perfect, no checks.  The belly split checked on me as I was chasing the ring on it. Many have been fine, but others have been ruined, so safest to seal them IMO.
Liberty, In God We Trust, E Pluribus Unum.  Distinctly American Values.

Offline Stick Bender

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Re: Osage stave shellac ?
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2016, 09:53:38 am »
Thank you Mr Deplorable , sold shellac it is !
If you fear failure you will never Try !

Offline George Tsoukalas

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Re: Osage stave shellac ?
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2016, 09:56:51 am »
Is your final finish going to be shellac?
I don't use it. But if I feel the need to seal the back during construction I use the same sealer I would use as a final sealer. I use spar urethane in a spray can. Jawge
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Offline PatM

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Re: Osage stave shellac ?
« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2016, 10:01:19 am »
Is your final finish going to be shellac?
I don't use it. But if I feel the need to seal the back during construction I use the same sealer I would use as a final sealer. I use spar urethane in a spray can. Jawge

  Shellac seems to be the one finish that sticks to anything and anything can go on top of it.

Offline Stick Bender

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Re: Osage stave shellac ?
« Reply #5 on: November 05, 2016, 10:01:40 am »
No George I was planing on a oil finish  this stave is really clean & probably look good with a oil finish no big deal alchohal & scrub in the end .
If you fear failure you will never Try !

Offline Stick Bender

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Re: Osage stave shellac ?
« Reply #6 on: November 05, 2016, 10:06:37 am »
Pat that's interesting you said that I often wondered if you could do a shellac oil type finish pre mixing finding the right recipe .
If you fear failure you will never Try !

Offline Dances with squirrels

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Re: Osage stave shellac ?
« Reply #7 on: November 05, 2016, 10:13:15 am »
If the stave has any drying to do yet, I like to leave a wee bit of the porous spring growth on top of the summer wood, shellac over that, and then later I can scrape off the shellac and spring growth in a couple of minutes.
Straight wood may make a better bow, but crooked wood makes a better bowyer

Offline Pat B

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Re: Osage stave shellac ?
« Reply #8 on: November 05, 2016, 12:31:32 pm »
I add shellac to any newly exposed back ring. I've had 10 year old staves check when a back ring was newly exposed.
 Shellac is easy to remove by lightly sanding or by wiping it down with alcohol.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline PatM

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Re: Osage stave shellac ?
« Reply #9 on: November 05, 2016, 01:49:54 pm »
Pat that's interesting you said that I often wondered if you could do a shellac oil type finish pre mixing finding the right recipe .

  Lee Valley has done that with their French Polish mixture.

Offline DC

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Re: Osage stave shellac ?
« Reply #10 on: November 05, 2016, 02:25:04 pm »
I've had 10 year old staves check when a back ring was newly exposed.


Makes you wonder if wood ever gets fully dry ??? ???

Offline Stick Bender

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Re: Osage stave shellac ?
« Reply #11 on: November 05, 2016, 03:34:00 pm »
Im starting to wonder if its not the moister in the staves but the oils & resins comming up threw the wood a 10 yr old stave should be at ambient conditions moister wise, just wondering how any wood could hold on to water that long. Since osage is so oily.
If you fear failure you will never Try !

Offline PatM

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Re: Osage stave shellac ?
« Reply #12 on: November 05, 2016, 05:30:24 pm »
I imagine it might have something to do with inherent stress within the wood manifesting itself when outer layers are removed from one side.

Offline SLIMBOB

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Re: Osage stave shellac ?
« Reply #13 on: November 05, 2016, 06:20:37 pm »
+1 Pat. Newly exposed wood is not unlike newly exposed skin. It's been protected from the elements, and once exposed to those elements it just reacts to them. Drying, cracking, shrinking as it hardens itself to the new environment.
Liberty, In God We Trust, E Pluribus Unum.  Distinctly American Values.

Offline Pat B

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Re: Osage stave shellac ?
« Reply #14 on: November 05, 2016, 06:50:22 pm »
DC, wood changes M/C with the relative humidity, even with a finish on it. I keep all my bow wood in my basement shop so the M/C fluctuates with the r/h also. I build most on my bows in the winter and bring them in the house near the wood stove between building sessions to keep the M/C low.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC