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David Reeves writes:

Groop,

In September I had the opportunity to speak to the East TN
woodworkers guild on the subject of finishing.  I briefly spoke
on the subject of French Polishing and spent most of my time
on answering numerous questions from the 100 plus
members.  After the meeting I was approached by Local
Legend Al Hudson, been woodworking since he was a young
teenager and now will be celebrating his 89th this spring.  He
wondered If I could look at a project he was working on and
give him some guidance on finishing the piece.  I went to his
humble shop and was floored by the beauty of his
workmanship, and mentioned this piece needs to be French
Polished.   Due to age and several shoulder surgeries Al
mentioned he could not possibly French this piece.  They
were merely going to spray two coats of shellac and wax over
it. To which I replied, no way, I am going to do this.  Gulp.

After loading it in my truck (and being told it was insured at a
value of $65,000) I drove it....very carefully to my shop.  The
next day I headed over to the shop of Alf Sharpe to learn
some tips and techniques from another legend around here.  It
was one of the most useful days I had spent.

I spent the entire month of October, every evening after I
closed the shop, with classical music playing, and I polished to
my hearts content.  and finished up my part on the 28th.  this
past weekend it was in a local gallery for the E. TN
Woodworkers Guild Juried show where it won the People's
choice award.

We have the molding left to finish and the finials still need to
be carved, which you would think that at 88 years of age he
would have plenty of energy to complete it.

All in all it was a very enjoyable experience,  I learned a
bunch about French Polishing, learned some shortcuts and
learned a lot about myself and classical Music.  By the way I
used a Waxy superfine Lemon shellac at a 1.5 pound cut and
used no oil in the process.

I was really torn between finishing this up or going to
Groopshop...the project won out...this year.

David Reeves
Knoxville, TN
Where the leaves are at their peak, the water level is at record
low level and my shoulders really hurt.










David Reeves updates:

Several weeks back I sent in some photos of a project
I did a French Polish on, last week we took the desk to
Tenn. Tech and had it professionally photographed,
here's the result.

David Reeves
Knoxville, TN





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