Sanding sealer is definitely on the table, pun intended.
I debated using AquaCoat grain filler before varnishing, but ended up using wood gravy with the varnish as medium with mixed results. There are definitely still grain pores visible, but they are reduced compared to unfilled wood. With AquaCoat, it should yield a completely uniform surface with no pores, like a piano or guitar. I’ve just never used it over varnish before, so I’m hesitant. It’s a good recommendation and I’ll look into whether it will work over layers of varnish.
As you know my default go-to solution for everything is a layer of concrete, but that would just turn the beautiful table top into lost formwork. You’d probably also have to reinforce the table legs. Possibly the floor as well. And while brutalist furniture can be really nice, I have a vague feeling this isn’t the solution you’re looking for.
I rarely anymore use varnish finishes. Raw linseed oil to penetrate, give a couple days to cure, then top with a couple or more coats of tung oil, a couple days to cure, then a beeswax finish. The linseed i apply until it won’t take anymore, and that is a remarkable amount, sometimes. Especially in endgrain or mixed, swirly grain like a crotch section. But given a little time to cure (the more it takes, the longer time to cure) it pretty well fills the pores and makes it much easier to get an even luster with the tung and wax.
Drone-adjacent improvisations as I usually do, but this time I gave myself some rules.
album title must begin with “E” and the first and last notes of the album must be “E”
everything recorded in sequential order as it appears on the album, and tracks crossfade smoothly from one to the next
odd-numbered tracks used only bass guitar (or bass ukulele) as the sound source, but as many layers and whatever processing I felt like using>
for even-numbered tracks, the beginning, middle and end all had to use specific synths (but I could add others in the middle)
The album is dedicated to two people who inspired me: Jonathan Stearne, a scholar, bass player and synthesist who I knew on a couple of forums as “JES”. Paul Schreiber, aka “paults”, an engineer who was extremely influential in the modular synth community. Both of them were great storytellers, generous and kind and had great senses of humor. They didn’t know each other, but both passed within about a week of each other just before I started recording.
Maybe I need to give a little more time to cure between coats. The Tried and True says 24 hours but I admit sometimes I shave that by an hour or two. I’ll try giving it longer to see if that helps the finish to set up.
I still remember the instruction I got for one of my first woodworking projects, a shepherds harp I built in college. To finish with tung oil (which I love) he said, one coat every day for a week, every week for a month, and every month for a year, and every year ever after."
And “sand” it with 0000 steel wool in between coats
I don’t think I made it the whole year, but still got a nice finish.
I do burnish with 0000 steel wool between coats per the Tried & True instructions. This last coat, there were almost no dry spots on the end grain sections. I think we’re getting there. Those areas are still very flat, though. I’m not happy with the difference in surface sheen between the satin of most of the table top and the 2-3 dead flat areas. I may look into a ceramic-style top coat to even out the sheen.
the reclaimed board is like 200 years old (allegedly, but you can see hew marks on it, which haven’t been used in forever) and bowed a little so the miter doesn’t join right but obviously they want a rustic look so it doesn’t matter in this case.
in other news, the other crew finished the retaining wall
