Trial pieces for a wedding gift memory box

[Ron Hamilton]

This is a piece of alder, should it be varnished prior to engraving, I work mostly with glass so not sure............

Ron
rmemory box wedding gift.jpg

[walter hofmann]

hi
you should always put one or two coats of clear on wood before engraving this helps to prevent smoke stains. but I am not sure if this is alder wood, because what I have 1/4 from HD is white with no grain to see.
greetings
walt

[Mike Null]

+1 for coating wood before engraving.

[Graham Taylor]

+1 for coating wood before engraving.

Is that all wood including MDF?

[Mike Null]

I don't do much with mdf but I guess I would make the decision based on what I wanted to do with it. So far my little work with mdf has not required a fancy finish.

[gary l roberts]

Yes +2 for a clear coat.

[Glen Monaghan]

You sure that's alder? What little alder I've used had almost no visible grain. That looks more like the grain you get with pine or the like.

Most of the wood engraving I've done has been on cherry and I applied finish before engraving, which made cleanup quick and easy. Only concern I'd have regarding finish is if you were going to use one of those thick glossy "pour on" sort of finishes, some sort of resin/epoxy stuff, which I'd test first to make sure it didn't char or foam when engraved.

[Mike Audleman]

This is a piece of alder, should it be varnished prior to engraving, I work mostly with glass so not sure............

Ron
rmemory box wedding gift.jpg

Yes, clear coat.

See my recent experiences and experiments about tape vs clear coating.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...15#post2304115

Swear that looks like pine.