President's Message

President Jimmy Carter

I think this is probably the first time that an American President has been mentioned in our Newsletters.

Many of you may not remember him, but I do, not for being President of the United States, but for what did after leaving office: he became a woodworker.

He made many intersting pieces and his work has been written up in Fine Woodworking and many more publiations.

See the link below.
(I have linked to the page rather than copy the images as I do not their copyright situation)

Google page of Jimmy Carter's work

Enjoy your woodworking
Cheera
Frank
Contact at:
Frankramsay8@aol.com

BAWA Meeting February 19, 2023
Combined in person & Zoom meeting

The evening was called to order by President Frank Ramsay

Guests: Ken Hornberg of Portola Valley.

Announcements:

Jon Kaplan

Jon Kaplan stated that the club has only 26 members who have renewed their membership.
Last year we had 52 members. Please pay your membership dues.

Frank confirmed that you can still pay your dues online or by mail.

March meeting: Lloyd Worthington-Levy will be describing building a beautiful sideboard
and Bruce Powell will be describing building a queen-size platform bed with drawers and a cross-bed tunnel.

We had 20 people join us on Zoom. 16 people attended in person.

The meeting was called to order by President Frank Ramsay.

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Steve Bauer
Baumar San Francisco

(www.baumarfinishing.com)

Steve started his finishing business in 1984.

He said that conversion varnish is the clear finish of choice for water resistant finishes. It is catalyzed and dries quickly. It holds up to years of heavy use on tabletops in kitchens, bars and restaurants.

Farrow and Ball makes high quality paints that produce high gloss finishes. Rubio Monocoat has a great dead flat finish, although it is not cheap at about $170/liter.

Steve mentioned that rags used for wipe-on finish must be laid out and allowed to air dry overnight in order to avoid spontaneous combustion.

Rudd conversion varnish is another good one. It must be sprayed, not brushed. Helmsman Spar Varnish can be brushed.

Steve mentioned that he does not usually sand finer than 180 grit before raising the grain. The 180 grit finish gives plenty of tooth for the finishes to bond to. He talked about using water based dyes for adding color to wood that will be finished with a water based clear finish. He said Enduro Conversion Varnish works well. He also said he thinks Kelly Moore and Sherwin-Williams make great finishing products.

When asked about what spray equipment he uses, he said he uses Tekna gravity feed guns.

He mentioned that a gloss finish is easier to touch up than a flat or semigloss finish because you can polish out the touch up to a glossy finish, but it is hard to match a dead flat or semi-gloss finish without refinishing the whole surface.

Steve noted that Finish Master supplies Liberon wipe-on coatings. Sherwin-Williams Universal Primer is a great base for painted finishes.

When asked about shellac finishes, he said it is too time consuming to apply for his shop. He did say that anyone who can create a good French Polish finish should have no problem getting employment... especially in Europe.

When it comes to selecting and working with a commercial finisher, get to know the finisher and be sure to give them the actual wood you are using in your project so they know what to expect when finishing it.

If your project has highly figured wood, sand to 320 grit and color with a dye rather than a stain.

Avoid using Pledge, because it contains silicone, which is difficult to remove if you need to touch up or refinish the surface.

Jasco makes a white water ring remover.

Oxalic Acid removes mineral stains. Wear gloves, respirator, and goggles when using oxalic acid.