Historical timber finishes - no really.

June 2, 2011 2:23 PM

A lot of people don't know where to go to source interesting info on historical wood finishes. You are not one of them.

Blog by the author of 'Shellac, Linseed Oil & Paint' and 'Hide Glue, Historical and Practical Applications' - Stephen A Shepherd.
Interesting detail as he recreates the old ways of wood working.

posted by bystander (10 comments total)

" Lacking a water wheel and the steam engine isn’t running yet, I bought an inexpensive aquarium air pump and some tubing to go through the proces... Seems to be working fine."

Forget those mnemonic tattoos: I want this guy with me when I'm thrown back in time.
posted by rokusan at 2:32 PM on June 2, 2011

This is definitely the sort of thing I'd be into if I didn't have a complicated 21st century life to lead.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 2:58 PM on June 2, 2011

He doesn't have any info on false graining as far as I can tell...therefore, his book is not complete. ;)
posted by schyler523 at 3:39 PM on June 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

You've found the most boring site on the internet.
posted by xmutex at 3:58 PM on June 2, 2011

Historical timber finishes threads can be strange.
posted by unliteral at 4:51 PM on June 2, 2011

There's a guy near Eureka, CA who makes his own finishes. He also uses lathes and other equipment that was originally driven by belts, and still is. He does historical refinishing of Victorian houses, but I can't remember the name of his shop, even googling. Anyway, truly amazing. When I was there, his annual project with troubled kids was to build a wooden car. Fascinating, and I am still kind of crushing on him.

I'm going to ask Mr. Sunny if he remembers the name.
posted by annsunny at 4:59 PM on June 2, 2011

Pretty decent once you get deep enough into the archives that he hasn't started shilling for his book yet.
posted by Mitheral at 7:09 PM on June 2, 2011

annsunny, it's Blue Ox Millworks in Eureka.
posted by modge at 8:09 PM on June 2, 2011

Oldtools mailing list thread from when Mr. Shepherd asks what people think of his new book cover art. One member responds with some suggested improvements.
posted by spock at 8:49 PM on June 2, 2011

Thanks, modge. I looked at them, but was thrown off by the picture of the victorian house on the front page. That is definitely not what the place looked like.
posted by annsunny at 8:07 AM on June 3, 2011