Working with hickory lumber

[Dave Lehnert]

Just picked up some hickory to build a small clock.
Never used it before. What will happen in my planer? Tips on finishing or any other info from experience.

[Greg Crawford]

Dave,

I work at Woodcraft, and had a customer looking for a finish for his hickory. It turned out that Watco Teak Oil gave him the look he wanted. It kept the light colors light, but accentuated the other colors. I'm not sure what he put over the oil to protect the cabinets.

[Eric Sayre]

Dave, I've worked some with Hickory and a lot with Pecan which is a close relative and very similar. The thing you will notice is the hardness. It's as hard as Sugar Maple. It finishes beautifully, though.

I think you will enjoy working with it. Just be patient and it will be well worth the effort.

Eric

[James Stokes]

That is theonly problem I have ever had, It is extremely hard. I have used a lot of it for hardwood flooring. I did enjoy the look all finished, and I like to keep in natural with a varathane finish on it. But to be honetst I never put the finish on. I always had some one else do it. I simply laid the floor.

[Robert Chapman]

+1 on the hardness of hickory. The problem I have with working hickory is that I get lots of really small slivers off edges. They are so small that I don't notice them until the next day. The wood is very durable and can have interesting grain and colors.

[Mike Parzych]

It finishes real well. Easy to get a smooth finish. I've put BLO on it first usually, to add some color.

[Lee Schierer]

The wood is very hard and will give your planer a good workout, but shold do no damage. Pay attenttion to the grain direction and feed it in so that you minimize chip outs. It will sand to a glass smooth finish. If you have lots of material to take off, it will take a while.

I've used Deft Clear Wood Finish as a finish and it sticks well and holds up for years. Stains don't penetrate much so it is hard to get a dark color. If you are going to stain, stop your sanding at 120 or 150 grit.

[Dave Lehnert]

Thanks for all the info.