How do I get this finish?

[oradba69]

Guys,
I want to make some shelves which will be solid wood pieces laminated to each other but with the twist that they will have aluminum inbetween.
Here is a quick sketchup image to give you an idea of what I am talking about:

The finish and look I am going for is something like this:

And was thinking a Danish oil finish. I do have a RO150 and was wondering about the sanding/oiling steps/grits? I already determined I need a hard pad to keep the shelf flat since the standard pad is wearing the wood down faster than the aluminum.
Just now read up a bit on the festool vlies  and was thinking about using them in the final finishing. How does one prevent the endgrain going much darker?
Any other suggestion would really be appreciated.

 

[peter halle]

A general rule of thumb if you desire the end grain to more closely match the remainder is to sand the end grain finer by one step in grits.  For instance if you stop at 240 overall, you would probably sand the end grain to 280.

Peter

 

[oradba69]

A general rule of thumb if you desire the end grain to more closely match the remainder is to sand the end grain finer by one step in grits.  For instance if you stop at 240 overall, you would probably sand the end grain to 280.

Peter

Thanks Peter, at least one of my questions I can tick off.

 

[semenza]

That will be nice.  Is the shelf/stand going to be for that turntable?

Seth

 

[Tim Sproul]

Piece does not need protection - use white fiberpad or 0000 steel wool and apply oil - boiled linseed or tung

Piece needs protection - use clear satin film finish.  Lacquer, catalyzed, poly etc.

 

[fritter63]

Put. Sanding sealer (thinned shellac) on the end grain and sand before finishing. Will keep the end grain from soaking up more than the side grains

 

[waynelang2001]

are you planning on gluing the aluminum in like an inlay ???

 

[oradba69]

Thanks guys. Actually going to put 4mm flatbar between the pieces of wood.

---
I am here:http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-25.857135,28.203049

 

[Timtool]

i use aluminium strips to glue my domino joints, regular white wood glue holds well onto aluminium, you need a chisel to scrape it off when dry.
But i would look at how the workpiece will react if you sand a wood-alu sandwich and thus spreading alu powder on the wood. It may turn black.

 

[waynelang2001]

i use aluminium strips to glue my domino joints, regular white wood glue holds well onto aluminium, you need a chisel to scrape it off when dry.
But i would look at how the workpiece will react if you sand a wood-alu sandwich and thus spreading alu powder on the wood. It may turn black.

White glue does stick to aluminium but i wonder if gluing a full bar in is the way to go here. Like I said before i would inlay the aluminium, that what you can finish the wood then install the aluminium last.

 

[Brice Burrell]

i use aluminium strips to glue my domino joints, regular white wood glue holds well onto aluminium, you need a chisel to scrape it off when dry.
But i would look at how the workpiece will react if you sand a wood-alu sandwich and thus spreading alu powder on the wood. It may turn black.

White glue does stick to aluminium but i wonder if gluing a full bar in is the way to go here. Like I said before i would inlay the aluminium, that what you can finish the wood then install the aluminium last.

I think you're right, inlay is the way to go. 

 

[davee]

Inlay sounds right, but if the OP wants solid aluminum, I wonder if keeping the wood proud of the aluminum and gently sanding down to the aluminum would work?  Probably hard to get uniform all the way down but possible?

 

[waynelang2001]

Inlay sounds right, but if the OP wants solid aluminum, I wonder if keeping the wood proud of the aluminum and gently sanding down to the aluminum would work?  Probably hard to get uniform all the way down but possible?

That would work aswell, but not very easy.  If you sand just a little to far then the work will be ruined because the sandpaper would take more out of the wood then the aluminium. I just wonder how aluminium will react to oil or any other finish the OP would want to use. Maybe test your finish on some scrap aluminium first just to be sure.

 

[ajones]

Inlay sounds right, but if the OP wants solid aluminum, I wonder if keeping the wood proud of the aluminum and gently sanding down to the aluminum would work?  Probably hard to get uniform all the way down but possible?

That would work aswell, but not very easy.  If you sand just a little to far then the work will be ruined because the sandpaper would take more out of the wood then the aluminium. I just wonder how aluminium will react to oil or any other finish the OP would want to use. Maybe test your finish on some scrap aluminium first just to be sure.

a bobbin sander would be the way to go

 

[waynelang2001]

Inlay sounds right, but if the OP wants solid aluminum, I wonder if keeping the wood proud of the aluminum and gently sanding down to the aluminum would work?  Probably hard to get uniform all the way down but possible?

That would work aswell, but not very easy.  If you sand just a little to far then the work will be ruined because the sandpaper would take more out of the wood then the aluminium. I just wonder how aluminium will react to oil or any other finish the OP would want to use. Maybe test your finish on some scrap aluminium first just to be sure.

a bobbin sander would be the way to go

And a drum sander.

 

[mastercabman]

Inlay would be my choice.

 

[oradba69]

Guys the joining is not an issue at all since I use dowels (mafell duo doweller). Yes I also thought a drum sander would work great but dont have one. I tried my rotex but as mentioned the wood gets sanded more than the alu causing it to become wavey, that is the reason I thought about replacing my rotex's pad with a hard one.

 

[Kevin Stricker]

Well you could get a perfectly flush edge, but wait a few months and it won't be anymore. Your wood will move with the seasons while the aluminum will not. I would intentionally have a reveal if I went the plate method otherwise it will bug you for 6+months of the year.

 

[waynelang2001]

Well you could get a perfectly flush edge, but wait a few months and it won't be anymore. Your wood will move with the seasons while the aluminum will not. I would intentionally have a reveal if I went the plate method otherwise it will bug you for 6+months of the year.

I second the reveal method. From the turntable pic that the OP posted, it looks like there might be a reveal on that aswell.

 

[mouppe]

My guess is that the turntable is made of veneered MDF. If you measure correctly, you can get a nice flush edge all year round this way.