To finish or not ...?

[greg Forster]

I'm building a small tavern table for use in an informal setting. I have some old heart-pine (lumber cut at least 140 yrs ago) and am considering using no finish.

The existing patina is a nice reddish-brown and where I cut into a "fresh" surface on a scrap a few months back, it has pretty much colored-up to match the undisturbed patina.

Would it be appropriate, in terms of 18thc, to leave this table unfinished?

[Jim Koepke]

My opinions are just that and are subject to change for no particular reason.

That said, my thoughts would be to apply a finish. At least a bit of shellac or varnish to keep marks from forming when a drink is set down without a coaster.

A finish would also help to protect the wood from drying and splintering. An oil and beeswax mixture applied every few weeks might be enough for this.

Of course, if the idea of a few coffee rings and wine stains are appealing, then no finish would work.

I think there may be another conference on finishing where you might get more answers.

jim

[george wilson]

I'd finish it. If you don't,the wood will eventually turn a filthy color from arms resting on it,spills,etc.. There are many antiques out there with original nice finishes on them.

Shellac is so easy to turn white,I'd recommend a varnish finish.

[Frank Drew]

Greg,

I really like Old Pine and have used a bunch of it over the years. It can be quite hard and resin-y, both of which provide some protection, but even so, if you're interested in preserving its beauty, I'd put a finish on it because any wood will eventually become a bit grimy and even stained with use.

[Frank Drew]

Another way to put it, if you're content with a piece's form alone, if you're ok that before too long you won't be able to see much of the wood's grain or color, then no finish isn't the worst thing in the world. But if you want to preserve the beauty of your wood, as it looks when it's first sawn or planed, then you'll have to take steps to protect it.

[george wilson]

I failed to see that your table is heart pine. In that case,put down a coat of dewaxed shellac first. the resins in the wood will keep varnish from ever drying. seal it first.

[Harlan Barnhart]

Here is a clock from old growth pine that my grandfather made for me. Finished with BLO. The heart pine may cause problems with varnish. Old pine is beautiful. The wood for this clock came from the rafters of the house I lived in as a child.

[James Taglienti]

I heard somewhere that tavern tables were left unfinished. Evidently any attempt at preservation was obliterated

[Don C Peterson]

According to several things I've read it was quite common for tables to be left unfinished and cleaned up by scrubbing with soapy water.

I think we sometimes put too much stock in the protective nature of finishes. Wood is quite durable all by itself particularly in a situation where it's not exposed to constant dampness and fungal rot.

[James Taglienti]

.... but I would definetly apply some kind of protective finish. I built a couple of farm tables from old growth pine when I lived in Baton Rouge, we scavenged it after hurricane katrina. It's beautiful stuff but they both got a few coats of blonde shellac. Unfinished pine is nice, but the first time a bit of bacon grease, or god forbid grape juice or wine, hits the thing, it might detract from the piece to have a bunch of blotches and stuff on it. You could leave a #5 on it and just plane it clean every time you use ot, however

[Prashun Patel]

If it were me, I'd at least use an oil finish. It will retard stain penetration. Or you can use paste wax.

More important than the protection, these will improve the FEEL of the table.

You can get a wonderfully silky finish on pine using the above. Sand them up to a high grit, then just rub in oil or wax with steel wool. Buff or wipe off any excess.

The nice thing is both are easy to repair; just wipe more of it on.

[Kent A Bathurst]

....a few coats of blonde shellac...

+ wax


10101010

[george wilson]

In Williamsburg there are many things that people are able to touch. They all get very filthy looking,blackish,gray and grimy. The same will apply to any unfinished wood. If you scrub it,some time in the future it may start looking gray,bleached out,etc.

[Mark Roderick]

"Wood is quite durable all by itself particularly in a situation where it's not exposed to constant dampness and fungal rot."

In a bookcase, sure. But for a table?

Forgetting the rot, bare wood that is touched regularly by human beings will quickly become dirty. That's okay for a walking stick but not for a table, in my opinion. And you won't be able to wash the dirt off because it's down in the pores of the wood. The combination of dirt and water will then start to look real ugly.

Two or three coats of shellac should do the trick just fine. You can add more protection with a harder top coat, but that's up to you.

[Prashun Patel]

I wouldn't use shellac on a table. It's easy to repair, but it'll look like crap quickly as water rings or anything heavy gets placed on it. It just cracks, scratches and gets white rings way to easily. I don't think a brittle finish like shellac's a good choice on soft, dingable wood like pine that will be subjected to a lot of banging.

Oil or wax is the way to go for an easy (looks sorta unfinished) finish. Even wax will have some of the probs shellac has.

You can beef up the protection of straight oil (Boiled Linseed or raw tung) by adding some varnish or poly to it. Wipe on/soak/wipe off. Doesn't get any easier to finish or refinish. No sanding between coats, no rubbing after completion.