Has anyone used a polissoir ( corn-straw burnisher, Jeff) on a Tried & 
True Original finish? I made a couple of wall-mount shelf supports, to 
replace the ones UPS broke, so my daughter & GIT can finally install a 
teak-look shelving system that belonged to my recently-departed Aunt. 
It's not critical, but I'm wanting to emulate a mid-century 
barely-finished look on padauk. I'm tempted to burnish before applying 
the T&T as the grain's quite irregular, but I don't want to interfere 
with absorption. All suggestions welcome.

Don, in nearly-balmy Calgary

-- 

"You only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you 
don\u2019t do too many things wrong." - Warren Buffet

\u201cTo argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, 
and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like 
administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist 
by scripture.\u201d \u2015 Thomas Paine, The American Crisis

If no one comes up with some helpful experience, I'd suggest trying it on a
piece of scrap and see if you like the results.

Phil

[image: IMG_1511.JPG]
Don...is this of which you speak?

Filled with my Grandfathers beeswax

didn't work as well as I expected- at least the first time!

Eric

AFAIK, the technique of burnishing with a polissoirwas not one used on Mid
Century furniture.

Having said that, I have done some work using the polissoir on wood, and find
that the effect ( early wood texturally sepaarted from the late wood) is
more effective on soft wood species... cedar, pine or even oak versus ebony or
purpleheart. for example.� Padauk is a hard wood, and I suspect the
results of burnishing it will be not enough to get a significant textural finish
difference.

Now if all you want is a really SMOOTH finish, use more sandpaper ( go to 320,
wet the wood, start again at 220 and go to 600) or plane it super well.
Try the burnishing using a stiff rag.� That should give that kind of finish...

BTW, Padauk is one of those woods that changes color when it oxidizes.� If you
sand it, it WILL change color.� On an old piece, one that is oxidized
over time, you may make a LOT of work for yourself in needing to re-sand the
entire bookshelf.

Frank Filippone
BMWRed735i@G...

Thanks for that. I'm quite certain polissoir was never a mid-century 
tool, at least not in a factory setting.

Yesterday I bit the bullet and connected the shop vac up to the orbital 
Bosch tailed device and had at it, reminding myself once again why I 
hate sanding. Red dust everywhere! I damp-wiped the standards and left 
them overnight with the air cleaner doing double duty. This a.m. I 
checked and it appears only a little hand sanding will be required. Not 
sure I'll try the polissoir for the reason Frank mentions, though the 
makers of T&T recommend burnishing with steel wool before each coat. 
Their recommendation made me think to try the polissoir, or even a brown 
wrapping paper burnish. Steel wool - another of my least favourite 
finishing materials, right up there with abrasive paper. We shall see...

Happily, there is no need to refinish the shelving itself.

Don

On 2024-01-27 10:43 a.m., Frank Filippone wrote:
>
> AFAIK, the technique of burnishing with a polissoirwas not one used on 
> Mid Century furniture.
>
> Having said that, I have done some work using the polissoir on wood, 
> and find that the effect ( early wood texturally sepaarted from the 
> late wood) is more effective on soft wood species... cedar, pine or 
> even oak versus ebony or purpleheart. for example.� Padauk is a hard 
> wood, and I suspect the results of burnishing it will be not enough to 
> get a significant textural finish difference.
>
> Now if all you want is a really SMOOTH finish, use more sandpaper ( go 
> to 320, wet the wood, start again at 220 and go to 600) or plane it 
> super well. Try the burnishing using a stiff rag.� That should give 
> that kind of finish...
>
> BTW, Padauk is one of those woods that changes color when it 
> oxidizes.� If you sand it, it WILL change color.� On an old piece, one 
> that is oxidized over time, you may make a LOT of work for yourself in 
> needing to re-sand the entire bookshelf.
>
> Frank Filippone
> BMWRed735i@G...
> On 1/25/2024 2:42 PM, Don Schwartz wrote:
>>
>> Has anyone used a polissoir ( corn-straw burnisher, Jeff) on a Tried 
>> & True Original finish? I made a couple of wall-mount shelf supports, 
>> to replace the ones UPS broke, so my daughter & GIT can finally 
>> install a teak-look shelving system that belonged to my 
>> recently-departed Aunt. It's not critical, but I'm wanting to emulate 
>> a mid-century barely-finished look on padauk. I'm tempted to burnish 
>> before applying the T&T as the grain's quite irregular, but I don't 
>> want to interfere with absorption. All suggestions welcome.
>>
>> Don, in nearly-balmy Calgary
>>

-- 

"You only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you 
don\u2019t do too many things wrong." - Warren Buffet

\u201cTo argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, 
and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like 
administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist 
by scripture.\u201d \u2015 Thomas Paine, The American Crisis

The Japanese use a tool called Uzukuri to burnish the wood, to make the hard
wood shine, and rub away some of the softer summer wood.
This technique is used for external siding, Sugi (cypress) wood first charred,
then rubbed to make the surface shine.  This is called 'shou sugi ban.'  It
reduces the vulnerability to insects.
It is also commonly used on the Koto (Japanese zither), made of Paulownia,
classified as a hardwood, a lightweight cypress, but with properties light like
balsa and soft like cedar.  Again, the surface is first charred, then rubbed.  
https://youtu.be/0w2HmGVq2DA?si=aaJCIe_yaaiYi8AV

The technique is also used for interior furnishing and paneling.

The Uzukuri can be purchased in three grades, from coarse and stiff to soft. 
The stiff ones are made of reeds, while the intermediate and soft from Tampico
and horsehair.
Here is a link to see the tool in 3 grades.
https://hiraide-sanjo.com/photo/album/1014757/page/4

Here is a link to a Kyoto based carpenter that teaches woodworking in English.
https://www.facebook.com/story.php/?id=100018912470740&story_fbid=12452932392174
62

Burnishing with your plane shavings after finish planing might work for you
. I learned the technique from the great Krenov (indirectly) from a class I
attended years ago . Simple , good exercise, and works great . Oh , almost
forgot , FREE !


On Sat, Jan 27, 2024 at 9:43 AM Frank Filippone 
wrote:

I use shavings to burnish unfinished turned work while still on the 
lathe, and it works well. Speed is a huge advantage there.

My testing to this point shows that burnishing with either brown paper 
bag or polissoir enhances both the surface feel and appearance of the 
padauk. After damping to raise grain, drying and then sanding to 400 
grit and vigorously brushing sanding dust from open grain, I burnished 
one section with polissor (no wax) and one with brown paper. The 
polissoir produced more sheen than the brown paper, possibly because it 
is easier to apply pressure with the polissoir, and because the corn 
straw is harder than the paper, and so better able to compress the tiny 
surface irregularities left after sanding. The hardness of the padauk 
apparently prevents the polissoir from abrading any softer material at 
the surface, which I wasn't hoping to achieve. The sample surfaces both 
appear to have taken a first coat of T&T well. The wood looks bare, but 
with a lovely, subtle sheen. I will burnish my samples again before 
applying a second coat of the T&T.

fwiw
Don

On 2024-01-29 9:09 a.m., james rich wrote:
> Burnishing with your plane shavings after finish planing might work 
> for you . I learned the technique from the great Krenov (indirectly) 
> from a class I attended years ago . Simple , good exercise, and works 
> great . Oh , almost forgot , FREE !
>
>
> On Sat, Jan 27, 2024 at 9:43\u202fAM Frank Filippone  
> wrote:
>
>     AFAIK, the technique of burnishing with a polissoirwas not one
>     used on Mid Century furniture.
>
>     Having said that, I have done some work using the polissoir on
>     wood, and find that the effect ( early wood texturally sepaarted
>     from the late wood) is
>     more effective on soft wood species... cedar, pine or even oak
>     versus ebony or purpleheart. for example.� Padauk is a hard wood,
>     and I suspect the
>     results of burnishing it will be not enough to get a significant
>     textural finish difference.
>
>     Now if all you want is a really SMOOTH finish, use more sandpaper
>     ( go to 320, wet the wood, start again at 220 and go to 600) or
>     plane it super well.
>     Try the burnishing using a stiff rag.� That should give that kind
>     of finish...
>
>     BTW, Padauk is one of those woods that changes color when it
>     oxidizes.� If you sand it, it WILL change color.� On an old piece,
>     one that is oxidized
>     over time, you may make a LOT of work for yourself in needing to
>     re-sand the entire bookshelf.
>
>     Frank Filippone
>     BMWRed735i@G...
>
>     On 1/25/2024 2:42 PM, Don Schwartz wrote:
>     >
>     > Has anyone used a polissoir ( corn-straw burnisher, Jeff) on a
>     Tried & True Original finish? I made a couple of wall-mount shelf
>     supports, to
>     > replace the ones UPS broke, so my daughter & GIT can finally
>     install a teak-look shelving system that belonged to my
>     recently-departed Aunt. It's
>     > not critical, but I'm wanting to emulate a mid-century
>     barely-finished look on padauk. I'm tempted to burnish before
>     applying the T&T as the grain's
>     > quite irregular, but I don't want to interfere with absorption.
>     All suggestions welcome.
>     >
>     > Don, in nearly-balmy Calgary
>     >
>
>
>     
>
>

-- 

"You only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you 
don\u2019t do too many things wrong." - Warren Buffet

\u201cTo argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, 
and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like 
administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist 
by scripture.\u201d \u2015 Thomas Paine, The American Crisis

What you are using the polissoir for is to not make the surface show more detail
in the inherent early and late wood, but rather to really polish the
surface, creating a surface that appears more smooth.

I was traveling down the wrong path.� I used it to show off the early and late
wood.

I would be interested in the results from working the surface AFTER the T+T is
applied..... What happens?

Frank Filippone
BMWRed735i@G...

On 2024-01-28 20:28, Mpfiller via groups.io wrote:
> The Japanese use a tool called Uzukuri to burnish the wood, to make the 
> hard wood shine, and rub away some of the softer summer wood.

Youtube etc. planed away..

There is a website from someone I don't recognise as on the list with a 
complete how-to with lots of pix, check out 
https://hillbillydaiku.com/2015/05/08/practice-with-the-uzukuri-part-1/

His homemade trammel points based on the module of the beam is high on 
my round tuit list.  The standard yard stick is 1/4x5/4 inches, a very 
slight change in his lovely drawing...
https://hillbillydaiku.com/2014/04/27/build-yourself-trammel-points/

Esther

Time to finish off this test report. ;-)

Once the first coat had dried, I burnished the two sections of the test 
piece (paper-burnished and polissoir-burnished) and found both sections 
to be silky smooth. The section burnished with the polissoir retained 
its superior sheen. I applied a 2nd coat of the T&T. Once dry, I 
burnished both sections with brown paper. The result was as expected: 
more sheen to the section which had been twice burnished with the 
polissoir (before & after the 1st coat of finish).

To my mind, either approach is worth the little effort required. 
Burnishing with polissoir or brown paper bag� improved the surface 
quality of the padauk, which had been sanded with 400x after raising 
grain. Both burnishers revealed deficiencies in my surface prep, which 
had gone undetected before. It will become a permanent addition to my 
finishing routines.

fwiw
Don


On 2024-01-29 10:07 a.m., Don Schwartz via groups.io wrote:
> I use shavings to burnish unfinished turned work while still on the 
> lathe, and it works well. Speed is a huge advantage there.
>
> My testing to this point shows that burnishing with either brown paper 
> bag or polissoir enhances both the surface feel and appearance of the 
> padauk. After damping to raise grain, drying and then sanding to 400 
> grit and vigorously brushing sanding dust from open grain, I burnished 
> one section with polissor (no wax) and one with brown paper. The 
> polissoir produced more sheen than the brown paper, possibly because 
> it is easier to apply pressure with the polissoir, and because the 
> corn straw is harder than the paper, and so better able to compress 
> the tiny surface irregularities left after sanding. The hardness of 
> the padauk apparently prevents the polissoir from abrading any softer 
> material at the surface, which I wasn't hoping to achieve. The sample 
> surfaces both appear to have taken a first coat of T&T well. The wood 
> looks bare, but with a lovely, subtle sheen. I will burnish my samples 
> again before applying a second coat of the T&T.
>
> fwiw
> Don
>
> On 2024-01-29 9:09 a.m., james rich wrote:
>> Burnishing with your plane shavings after finish planing might work 
>> for you . I learned the technique from the great Krenov (indirectly) 
>> from a class I attended years ago . Simple , good exercise, and works 
>> great . Oh , almost forgot , FREE !
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Jan 27, 2024 at 9:43\u202fAM Frank Filippone 
>>  wrote:
>>
>> ��� AFAIK, the technique of burnishing with a polissoirwas not one
>> ��� used on Mid Century furniture.
>>
>> ��� Having said that, I have done some work using the polissoir on
>> ��� wood, and find that the effect ( early wood texturally sepaarted
>> ��� from the late wood) is
>> ��� more effective on soft wood species... cedar, pine or even oak
>> ��� versus ebony or purpleheart. for example.� Padauk is a hard wood,
>> ��� and I suspect the
>> ��� results of burnishing it will be not enough to get a significant
>> ��� textural finish difference.
>>
>> ��� Now if all you want is a really SMOOTH finish, use more sandpaper
>> ��� ( go to 320, wet the wood, start again at 220 and go to 600) or
>> ��� plane it super well.
>> ��� Try the burnishing using a stiff rag.� That should give that kind
>> ��� of finish...
>>
>> ��� BTW, Padauk is one of those woods that changes color when it
>> ��� oxidizes.� If you sand it, it WILL change color.� On an old piece,
>> ��� one that is oxidized
>> ��� over time, you may make a LOT of work for yourself in needing to
>> ��� re-sand the entire bookshelf.
>>
>> ��� Frank Filippone
>> ��� BMWRed735i@G...
>>
>> ��� On 1/25/2024 2:42 PM, Don Schwartz wrote:
>> ��� >
>> ��� > Has anyone used a polissoir ( corn-straw burnisher, Jeff) on a
>> ��� Tried & True Original finish? I made a couple of wall-mount shelf
>> ��� supports, to
>> ��� > replace the ones UPS broke, so my daughter & GIT can finally
>> ��� install a teak-look shelving system that belonged to my
>> ��� recently-departed Aunt. It's
>> ��� > not critical, but I'm wanting to emulate a mid-century
>> ��� barely-finished look on padauk. I'm tempted to burnish before
>> ��� applying the T&T as the grain's
>> ��� > quite irregular, but I don't want to interfere with absorption.
>> ��� All suggestions welcome.
>> ��� >
>> ��� > Don, in nearly-balmy Calgary
>> ��� >
>>
>>
>>
>>
>

-- 

"You only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you 
don\u2019t do too many things wrong." - Warren Buffet

\u201cTo argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, 
and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like 
administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist 
by scripture.\u201d \u2015 Thomas Paine, The American Crisis

Don,   A big thank you for some intriguing factual research.  This is a
technique I have to try out.  My kind of finish.

My problem is the lack of sources for polissoirs hereabouts.  My reading
suggests that reed can be substituted for corn straw - I know where I can obtain
some of those.  Corn straw I assume to be American for maize, and there used to
be a field grown near here, but no longer.  If I see some I’ll need to talk to
the farmer about harvest time. I may be able to get some wheat straw.  Back in
my youth we would visit an uncle’s farm about harvest time so we could get in
the way of the work.  Good times.

Is the polissoir really as simple as photo’s make it appear though?   Take a
decent handful of straight stalks, and ‘simply’ bind them together?


Richard Wilson
yorkshireman Galoot in Northumbria





> On 3 Feb 2024, at 01:18, Don Schwartz  wrote:
> 
> Time to finish off this test report. ;-)
> 
> Once the first coat had dried, I burnished the two sections of the test piece
(paper-burnished and polissoir-burnished) and found both sections to be silky
smooth. The section burnished with the polissoir retained its superior sheen. I
applied a 2nd coat of the T&T. Once dry, I burnished both sections with brown
paper. The result was as expected: more sheen to the section which had been
twice burnished with the polissoir (before & after the 1st coat of finish).
> 
> To my mind, either approach is worth the little effort required. Burnishing
with polissoir or brown paper bag  improved the surface quality of the padauk,
which had been sanded with 400x after raising grain. Both burnishers revealed
deficiencies in my surface prep, which had gone undetected before. It will
become a permanent addition to my finishing routines.
> 
> fwiw
> Don
> 
> 
> On 2024-01-29 10:07 a.m., Don Schwartz via groups.io <http://groups.io/>
wrote:
>> I use shavings to burnish unfinished turned work while still on the lathe,
and it works well. Speed is a huge advantage there.
>> 
>> My testing to this point shows that burnishing with either brown paper bag or
polissoir enhances both the surface feel and appearance of the padauk. After
damping to raise grain, drying and then sanding to 400 grit and vigorously
brushing sanding dust from open grain, I burnished one section with polissor (no
wax) and one with brown paper. The polissoir produced more sheen than the brown
paper, possibly because it is easier to apply pressure with the polissoir, and
because the corn straw is harder than the paper, and so better able to compress
the tiny surface irregularities left after sanding. The hardness of the padauk
apparently prevents the polissoir from abrading any softer material at the
surface, which I wasn't hoping to achieve. The sample surfaces both appear to
have taken a first coat of T&T well. The wood looks bare, but with a lovely,
subtle sheen. I will burnish my samples again before applying a second coat of
the T&T.
>> 
>> fwiw
>> Don
>> 
>> On 2024-01-29 9:09 a.m., james rich wrote:
>>> Burnishing with your plane shavings after finish planing might work for you
. I learned the technique from the great Krenov (indirectly) from a class I
attended years ago . Simple , good exercise, and works great . Oh , almost
forgot , FREE !
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Sat, Jan 27, 2024 at 9:43 AM Frank Filippone  wrote:
>>> 
>>>     AFAIK, the technique of burnishing with a polissoirwas not one
>>>     used on Mid Century furniture.
>>> 
>>>     Having said that, I have done some work using the polissoir on
>>>     wood, and find that the effect ( early wood texturally sepaarted
>>>     from the late wood) is
>>>     more effective on soft wood species... cedar, pine or even oak
>>>     versus ebony or purpleheart. for example.  Padauk is a hard wood,
>>>     and I suspect the
>>>     results of burnishing it will be not enough to get a significant
>>>     textural finish difference.
>>> 
>>>     Now if all you want is a really SMOOTH finish, use more sandpaper
>>>     ( go to 320, wet the wood, start again at 220 and go to 600) or
>>>     plane it super well.
>>>     Try the burnishing using a stiff rag.  That should give that kind
>>>     of finish...
>>> 
>>>     BTW, Padauk is one of those woods that changes color when it
>>>     oxidizes.  If you sand it, it WILL change color.  On an old piece,
>>>     one that is oxidized
>>>     over time, you may make a LOT of work for yourself in needing to
>>>     re-sand the entire bookshelf.
>>> 
>>>     Frank Filippone
>>>     BMWRed735i@G...
>>> 
>>>     On 1/25/2024 2:42 PM, Don Schwartz wrote:
>>>     >
>>>     > Has anyone used a polissoir ( corn-straw burnisher, Jeff) on a
>>>     Tried & True Original finish? I made a couple of wall-mount shelf
>>>     supports, to
>>>     > replace the ones UPS broke, so my daughter & GIT can finally
>>>     install a teak-look shelving system that belonged to my
>>>     recently-departed Aunt. It's
>>>     > not critical, but I'm wanting to emulate a mid-century
>>>     barely-finished look on padauk. I'm tempted to burnish before
>>>     applying the T&T as the grain's
>>>     > quite irregular, but I don't want to interfere with absorption.
>>>     All suggestions welcome.
>>>     >
>>>     > Don, in nearly-balmy Calgary
>>>     >
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> "You only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you don’t do
too many things wrong." - Warren Buffet
> 
> “To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and
whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering
medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture.” ―
Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
> 
> 
> 
> 



-- 
Yorkshireman Galoot
in the most northerly county, farther north even than Yorkshire
IT #300

On Sat, Feb 3, 2024 at 3:38 AM Richard Wilson <
yorkshireman@y...> wrote:

>
> Is the polissoir really as simple as photo’s make it appear though?   Take
> a decent handful of straight stalks, and ‘simply’ bind them together?


Hi Richard,

There is a Lost Art Press blog post with an excerpt from Roubo on how to
make one from a  broom and apparently it is that easy. Haven’t tried one
myself, but finishing a project isn’t really my specialty.

https://blog.lostartpress.com/2019/08/08/make-and-use-a-straw-polissoir/

Brian

Richard,
1. “Broom straw” comes from the sorghum plant, not from corn/maize.
2. You can buy a polissoir from donsbarn.com or via Etsy.com.
Cheers,
Chuck Taylor north of Seattle USA


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad


On Saturday, February 3, 2024, 4:29 AM, Brian Welch  wrote:

On Sat, Feb 3, 2024 at 3:38 AM Richard Wilson <
yorkshireman@y...> wrote:

It’s fairly simple to make one…

https://blog.lostartpress.com/2019/08/08/make-and-use-a-straw-polissoir/

Dave


On Sat, 3 Feb 2024 at 07:03, Chuck Taylor via groups.io  wrote:

Richard asks about "corn". I can't see how American maize would be made to
work. We do have a plant called "broom corn" that is more like thick wheat
stalks, that they may be referring to. But I would suppose almost any dried
stalks would work.

Phil E.

On 2024-02-03 13:49, Phil E. wrote:
> Richard asks about "corn". I can't see how American maize would be made 
> to
> work. We do have a plant called "broom corn" that is more like thick 
> wheat
> stalks, that they may be referring to. But I would suppose almost any 
> dried
> stalks would work.
> 
> Phil E.
> 
The required item is "broom corn" which used to be the bristles on the 
tool to sweep the floor (now hard to find but I still prefer to 
plastic).  Richard might want to see 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghum_bicolor  to figure out the 
local-to-him name, there are apparently many!

Esther

I suspect that finely enough split bamboo would work just fine also.

You're very welcome Richard. You have been most generous of your time 
and knowledge since I've been on the porch, so I'm happy to have been 
helpful.

I realize I've failed to acknowledge Don Williams' excellent video on 
Youtube demonstrating use of the polissoir as a wax applicator and grain 
filling device. That is yet another use for this traditional tool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5al4CtLFebU

As well, polissoirs can be made expressly for polishing surfaces which 
are shaped - for carving, moldings or turnings. I don't know how. 
Perhaps using different material, or packing it less tightly?

There is a thread in the archive you may like to have a look at, though 
I had difficulty searching for it:

https://swingleydev.com/ot/get/229710/thread/#229710

Some of us bought burnishers from thebroombrothers.com, but that site 
has been vacated...

Unfortunately the photo links in Charlie Driggs' posting are no longer 
working. And they don't seem to be in the groups.io photos either

This is the burnisher I used in my tests. 
https://broomcompany.com/products/straw-burnisher
It's a Canadian company.

fwiw
Don

On 2024-02-03 1:38 a.m., yorkshireman@y... wrote:
> Don, � A big thank you for some intriguing factual research. �This is 
> a technique I have to try out. �My kind of finish.
>
> My problem is the lack of sources for polissoirs hereabouts. �My 
> reading suggests that reed can be substituted for corn straw - I know 
> where I can obtain some of those. �Corn straw I assume to be American 
> for maize, and there used to be a field grown near here, but no 
> longer. �If I see some I\u2019ll need to talk to the farmer about harvest 
> time. I may be able to get some wheat straw. �Back in my youth we 
> would visit an uncle\u2019s farm about harvest time so we could get in the 
> way of the work. �Good times.
>
> Is the polissoir really as simple as photo\u2019s make it appear though? � 
> Take a decent handful of straight stalks, and \u2018simply\u2019 bind them 
> together?
>
>
> Richard Wilson
> yorkshireman Galoot in Northumbria
>
>
>
>
>
>> On 3 Feb 2024, at 01:18, Don Schwartz  wrote:
>>
>> Time to finish off this test report. ;-)
>>
>> Once the first coat had dried, I burnished the two sections of the 
>> test piece (paper-burnished and polissoir-burnished) and found both 
>> sections to be silky smooth. The section burnished with the polissoir 
>> retained its superior sheen. I applied a 2nd coat of the T&T. Once 
>> dry, I burnished both sections with brown paper. The result was as 
>> expected: more sheen to the section which had been twice burnished 
>> with the polissoir (before & after the 1st coat of finish).
>>
>> To my mind, either approach is worth the little effort required. 
>> Burnishing with polissoir or brown paper bag� improved the surface 
>> quality of the padauk, which had been sanded with 400x after raising 
>> grain. Both burnishers revealed deficiencies in my surface prep, 
>> which had gone undetected before. It will become a permanent addition 
>> to my finishing routines.
>>
>> fwiw
>> Don
>>
>>
>> On 2024-01-29 10:07 a.m., Don Schwartz viagroups.io 
>> <http://groups.io/>wrote:
>>> I use shavings to burnish unfinished turned work while still on the 
>>> lathe, and it works well. Speed is a huge advantage there.
>>>
>>> My testing to this point shows that burnishing with either brown 
>>> paper bag or polissoir enhances both the surface feel and appearance 
>>> of the padauk. After damping to raise grain, drying and then sanding 
>>> to 400 grit and vigorously brushing sanding dust from open grain, I 
>>> burnished one section with polissor (no wax) and one with brown 
>>> paper. The polissoir produced more sheen than the brown paper, 
>>> possibly because it is easier to apply pressure with the polissoir, 
>>> and because the corn straw is harder than the paper, and so better 
>>> able to compress the tiny surface irregularities left after sanding. 
>>> The hardness of the padauk apparently prevents the polissoir from 
>>> abrading any softer material at the surface, which I wasn't hoping 
>>> to achieve. The sample surfaces both appear to have taken a first 
>>> coat of T&T well. The wood looks bare, but with a lovely, subtle 
>>> sheen. I will burnish my samples again before applying a second coat 
>>> of the T&T.
>>>
>>> fwiw
>>> Don
>>>
>>> On 2024-01-29 9:09 a.m., james rich wrote:
>>>> Burnishing with your plane shavings after finish planing might work 
>>>> for you . I learned the technique from the great Krenov 
>>>> (indirectly) from a class I attended years ago . Simple , good 
>>>> exercise, and works great . Oh , almost forgot , FREE !
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, Jan 27, 2024 at 9:43\u202fAM Frank Filippone 
>>>>  wrote:
>>>>
>>>> AFAIK, the technique of burnishing with a polissoirwas not one
>>>> used on Mid Century furniture.
>>>>
>>>> Having said that, I have done some work using the polissoir on
>>>> wood, and find that the effect ( early wood texturally sepaarted
>>>> from the late wood) is
>>>> more effective on soft wood species... cedar, pine or even oak
>>>> versus ebony or purpleheart. for example.� Padauk is a hard wood,
>>>> and I suspect the
>>>> results of burnishing it will be not enough to get a significant
>>>> textural finish difference.
>>>>
>>>> Now if all you want is a really SMOOTH finish, use more sandpaper
>>>> ( go to 320, wet the wood, start again at 220 and go to 600) or
>>>> plane it super well.
>>>> Try the burnishing using a stiff rag.� That should give that kind
>>>> of finish...
>>>>
>>>> BTW, Padauk is one of those woods that changes color when it
>>>> oxidizes. If you sand it, it WILL change color.� On an old piece,
>>>> one that is oxidized
>>>> over time, you may make a LOT of work for yourself in needing to
>>>> re-sand the entire bookshelf.
>>>>
>>>> Frank Filippone
>>>> BMWRed735i@G...
>>>>
>>>> On 1/25/2024 2:42 PM, Don Schwartz wrote:
>>>> >
>>>> > Has anyone used a polissoir ( corn-straw burnisher, Jeff) on a
>>>> Tried & True Original finish? I made a couple of wall-mount shelf
>>>> supports, to
>>>> > replace the ones UPS broke, so my daughter & GIT can finally
>>>> install a teak-look shelving system that belonged to my
>>>> recently-departed Aunt. It's
>>>> > not critical, but I'm wanting to emulate a mid-century
>>>> barely-finished look on padauk. I'm tempted to burnish before
>>>> applying the T&T as the grain's
>>>> > quite irregular, but I don't want to interfere with absorption.
>>>> All suggestions welcome.
>>>> >
>>>> > Don, in nearly-balmy Calgary
>>>> >
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> "You only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you 
>> don\u2019t do too many things wrong." - Warren Buffet
>>
>> \u201cTo argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of 
>> reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in 
>> contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring 
>> to convert an atheist by scripture.\u201d \u2015 Thomas Paine, The American
Crisis
>>
>>
>>
>> 
>

-- 

"You only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you 
don\u2019t do too many things wrong." - Warren Buffet

\u201cTo argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, 
and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like 
administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist 
by scripture.\u201d \u2015 Thomas Paine, The American Crisis

Thanks Don,

Between us all, we seem to have made a worthwhile thread from all the references
flying about.  To add to it, for any other UK readers, I located a source of
sorghum fibre on Etsy, as suggested, coming from Norfolk, a seller by the name
of FrogleyFibre.  Out of stock of the pack size I want of course, but then, I
still have other things to do before this one.

I recalled the previous thread as soon as you spoke about the technique.
Making/buying one went on the list then, and now it’s bumped up a few dozen
notches.


Richard Wilson
yorkshireman Galoot in Northumbria



> On 3 Feb 2024, at 23:40, Don Schwartz  wrote:
> 
> You're very welcome Richard. You have been most generous of your time and
knowledge since I've been on the porch, so I'm happy to have been helpful.
> 
> I realize I've failed to acknowledge Don Williams' excellent video on Youtube
demonstrating use of the polissoir as a wax applicator and grain filling device.
That is yet another use for this traditional tool.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5al4CtLFebU
> 
> As well, polissoirs can be made expressly for polishing surfaces which are
shaped - for carving, moldings or turnings. I don't know how. Perhaps using
different material, or packing it less tightly?
> 
> There is a thread in the archive you may like to have a look at, though I had
difficulty searching for it:
> 
> https://swingleydev.com/ot/get/229710/thread/#229710
> 
> Some of us bought burnishers from thebroombrothers.com, but that site has been
vacated...
> 
> Unfortunately the photo links in Charlie Driggs' posting are no longer
working. And they don't seem to be in the groups.io photos either
> 
> This is the burnisher I used in my tests.
https://broomcompany.com/products/straw-burnisher
> It's a Canadian company.
> 
> fwiw
> Don
> 
> On 2024-02-03 1:38 a.m., yorkshireman@y... <mailto:yorkshireman@y...> wrote:
>> Don,   A big thank you for some intriguing factual research.  This is a
technique I have to try out.  My kind of finish.
>> 
>> My problem is the lack of sources for polissoirs hereabouts.  My reading
suggests that reed can be substituted for corn straw - I know where I can obtain
some of those.  Corn straw I assume to be American for maize, and there used to
be a field grown near here, but no longer.  If I see some I’ll need to talk to
the farmer about harvest time. I may be able to get some wheat straw.  Back in
my youth we would visit an uncle’s farm about harvest time so we could get in
the way of the work.  Good times.
>> 
>> Is the polissoir really as simple as photo’s make it appear though?   Take a
decent handful of straight stalks, and ‘simply’ bind them together?
>> 
>> 
>> Richard Wilson
>> yorkshireman Galoot in Northumbria
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On 3 Feb 2024, at 01:18, Don Schwartz mailto:dks@t...>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Time to finish off this test report. ;-)
>>> 
>>> Once the first coat had dried, I burnished the two sections of the test
piece (paper-burnished and polissoir-burnished) and found both sections to be
silky smooth. The section burnished with the polissoir retained its superior
sheen. I applied a 2nd coat of the T&T. Once dry, I burnished both sections with
brown paper. The result was as expected: more sheen to the section which had
been twice burnished with the polissoir (before & after the 1st coat of finish).
>>> 
>>> To my mind, either approach is worth the little effort required. Burnishing
with polissoir or brown paper bag  improved the surface quality of the padauk,
which had been sanded with 400x after raising grain. Both burnishers revealed
deficiencies in my surface prep, which had gone undetected before. It will
become a permanent addition to my finishing routines.
>>> 
>>> fwiw
>>> Don
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 2024-01-29 10:07 a.m., Don Schwartz via groups.io <http://groups.io/>
wrote:
>>>> I use shavings to burnish unfinished turned work while still on the lathe,
and it works well. Speed is a huge advantage there.
>>>> 
>>>> My testing to this point shows that burnishing with either brown paper bag
or polissoir enhances both the surface feel and appearance of the padauk. After
damping to raise grain, drying and then sanding to 400 grit and vigorously
brushing sanding dust from open grain, I burnished one section with polissor (no
wax) and one with brown paper. The polissoir produced more sheen than the brown
paper, possibly because it is easier to apply pressure with the polissoir, and
because the corn straw is harder than the paper, and so better able to compress
the tiny surface irregularities left after sanding. The hardness of the padauk
apparently prevents the polissoir from abrading any softer material at the
surface, which I wasn't hoping to achieve. The sample surfaces both appear to
have taken a first coat of T&T well. The wood looks bare, but with a lovely,
subtle sheen. I will burnish my samples again before applying a second coat of
the T&T.
>>>> 
>>>> fwiw
>>>> Don
>>>> 
>>>> On 2024-01-29 9:09 a.m., james rich wrote:
>>>>> Burnishing with your plane shavings after finish planing might work for
you . I learned the technique from the great Krenov (indirectly) from a class I
attended years ago . Simple , good exercise, and works great . Oh , almost
forgot , FREE !
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Sat, Jan 27, 2024 at 9:43 AM Frank Filippone mailto:bmwred735i@g...>> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>>     AFAIK, the technique of burnishing with a polissoirwas not one
>>>>>     used on Mid Century furniture.
>>>>> 
>>>>>     Having said that, I have done some work using the polissoir on
>>>>>     wood, and find that the effect ( early wood texturally sepaarted
>>>>>     from the late wood) is
>>>>>     more effective on soft wood species... cedar, pine or even oak
>>>>>     versus ebony or purpleheart. for example.  Padauk is a hard wood,
>>>>>     and I suspect the
>>>>>     results of burnishing it will be not enough to get a significant
>>>>>     textural finish difference.
>>>>> 
>>>>>     Now if all you want is a really SMOOTH finish, use more sandpaper
>>>>>     ( go to 320, wet the wood, start again at 220 and go to 600) or
>>>>>     plane it super well.
>>>>>     Try the burnishing using a stiff rag.  That should give that kind
>>>>>     of finish...
>>>>> 
>>>>>     BTW, Padauk is one of those woods that changes color when it
>>>>>     oxidizes.  If you sand it, it WILL change color.  On an old piece,
>>>>>     one that is oxidized
>>>>>     over time, you may make a LOT of work for yourself in needing to
>>>>>     re-sand the entire bookshelf.
>>>>> 
>>>>>     Frank Filippone
>>>>>     BMWRed735i@G... 
>>>>> 
>>>>>     On 1/25/2024 2:42 PM, Don Schwartz wrote:
>>>>>     >
>>>>>     > Has anyone used a polissoir ( corn-straw burnisher, Jeff) on a
>>>>>     Tried & True Original finish? I made a couple of wall-mount shelf
>>>>>     supports, to
>>>>>     > replace the ones UPS broke, so my daughter & GIT can finally
>>>>>     install a teak-look shelving system that belonged to my
>>>>>     recently-departed Aunt. It's
>>>>>     > not critical, but I'm wanting to emulate a mid-century
>>>>>     barely-finished look on padauk. I'm tempted to burnish before
>>>>>     applying the T&T as the grain's
>>>>>     > quite irregular, but I don't want to interfere with absorption.
>>>>>     All suggestions welcome.
>>>>>     >
>>>>>     > Don, in nearly-balmy Calgary
>>>>>     >
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> -- 
>>> 
>>> "You only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you don’t do
too many things wrong." - Warren Buffet
>>> 
>>> “To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and
whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering
medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture.” ―
Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
> 
> -- 
> "You only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you don’t do
too many things wrong." - Warren Buffet
> 
> 
> “To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and
whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering
medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture.” ―
Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
> 



-- 
Yorkshireman Galoot
in the most northerly county, farther north even than Yorkshire
IT #300

As usual, I’m a bit late to the bar or dinner table on almost any discussion of
interest these days.

As I skim through the contributions, I think I can clarify a few things about
using polisseurs that may or may not help.

1)  The most recent work in the “western world’ about making and using
polisseurs was done by Don Williams, as part of a three person effort to
translate the archaic French that was used by Roubo to describe how French
woodworking was tackled as of the mid-1700's.  The sitting king of France at the
time had ordered that every industry in France be documented in regards of what
they did, where there did it, what they did it for, etc., and IIRC (no
commitment to accuracy here) the resulting published work was massive.  The part
written and illustrated by Roubo became four volumes on joinery and woodworking
for everything from furniture to garden trellises, , without providing much
detail.  Don very clearly advises the reader of the resulting books that Roubo
presumed that the reader knew the basics of the trade, and the intent was to
preserve the advanced knowledge of French industry. A full set of the resulting
efforts producing something on the order of hundreds of volumes.  Perhaps the
king lacked reading material to put him to sleep or they had libraries with
empty shelves.

The Roubo contribution was titled "The Art of Joinery".  Four volumes were
published in 1771, 1772, 1774, & 1775 on various special types of joinery, and a
fifth on how to build theaters & 'theater machinery’ was partially published in
1782.  These would have been fairly large books, as was the practice in 18th
century printing & binding.  Seems fair to say at that time the entire set was
not a best-seller.

2)  The archaic French didn’t help, but Don had two friends who were interested
in spending a full year of long hours and few vacation plans to tackle the
project.  I gathered that his assistants were also employed at times by the
Smithsonian, as was Don until he retired and launch this project.  One of the
assistants was a close female friend of Don's who happened to have Doctorate in
Archaic French but no furniture or woodworking expertise (and as Don was
married, let’s not assume the relationship was totally aboveboard.  The third
person involved was another male who worked with Don at times on furniture, and
happened to be able to read and speak modern French.  From what Don had said,
the three of them found the project challenging and educational, as translation
of archaic French focused on a specific kind of trade work did not translate
easily.

3)  The resulting published work written and illustrated by Roubo was requested
of all industries in France in the 1700’s became four volumes on joinery and
woodworking for everything from furniture to garden trellises, , without
providing much detail.  Don very clearly advises the reader of the resulting
books that Roubo presumed that the reader knew the basics of the trade, and this
was aimed at conveying the advanced knowledge.  If you want to try and figure
out what insight Roubo recorded and the team translated, you want to talk with
Lost Art Press to see if they have any more copies of the second volume:  Roubo
on Furniture (sea green binding), published in 2017.


Don gave a very captivating presentation to a Society of American Period
Furniture Makers on using polisseurs shortly before the book went on sale.  Don
prefaced his demonstration by cautioning us that finding someone to make or sell
polisseurs was very difficult.  He had a guy who was helping figure out just how
tight they have to be, and what grade of materials worked best in making them.
Since Don & I spent some time on the issue of where to get these tools, and Don
was trying to get a steady supply, I took the initiative to see if I could find
a second person or persons who might be able to provide enough polisseurs to
keep all of us newly aware of polisseurs and their use in as many as we needed.

I found a small family business in Alabama who agreed to make some, and he
shipped me a dozen that used several thicknesses and length of broom (corn)
straw.  The first batch was not particularly successful.  Very fine straw, as
might be used in a whisk for cleaning dirt off a piece of clothing is not
suitable.  The finer the straw, the more quickly the tip (where the workpiece is
polished) disintegrates.  The next batch used several grades of thicker straws,
and we both shortened the exposed straw tips and tightened the cord wrapping at
nearly double the tension of what is commonly used for heavy duty brooms that
are constructed with sewn in high-tension cord.  I bought a couple more batches,
and had enough that I thought I would have enough for the remainder of my life
in the workshop.  During the early days of the Pandemic, I had a phone call from
the oldest brother, informing me that the father had quit that business and left
it to his sons over the past year, and this son (who I had been talking with
through the experiments) had bought his brothers out of the custom broom
business.  Less than a year later he called to say that he had already found a
buyer for the broom making equipment, and he was moving out of state to take a
steady job so that he could eat regularly.  I asked how many polishers he had
left, and he sold the inventory (less than a dozen) for double the price I had
been paying him (considering that he had been very cooperative, I was perfectly
happy to do so).

Use of Polisseurs

I made a variety of pieces of furniture for this home at the request of my late
wife, and used Don Williams’ advice with success.   The less than obvious aspect
is just how much downward pressure is needed to let the polisseur achieve the
polished surface.  Keep this in mind:  A Lot of Pressure.  Keep the polisher as
vertical as possible, and use your arms, shoulders, & back to keep the pressure
on while it moving forward and backward.  Do not go side to side, as you will
not be able to see the uneven streaks that will result until you change viewing
position.

The second aspect is to move the polisher inline with the grain as much as
possible.  Cross the grain at a 90 degree angle may damage the surface of the
wood.


Three example projects:

One piece was a six drawer Hepplewhite style sewing machine cabinet, built with
a 19” deep cabinet (front to back) x 40” wide top that flipped over on hinges to
support the material or item being sewn.  The  top surfaces were polished as Don
Williams had instructed us in the SAPFM presentation — grip the polishers
tightly and set the angle of the relative to the surface as close to vertical as
the roughness of the surface allows.  The idea here is that the tips of the
straw all need to be in contact with the surface being smoothed.=My polishers
are made of broom straw, which works very well on moderately hard hardwoods.
The mahogany I was using was a northern South American variety (yes, say that
quickly 3x), a bit darker than Honduran / Guatamalan mahogany (which is now
difficult to obtain because it and other subspecies are prohibited to be shipped
out of their native country).

Another mahogany piece, a lingerie chest, with five main drawers in the lower
portion of the cabinet; a 22” wide six-drawer jewelry case in the upper portion
of the cabinet, a digital jewelry safe above that, with raised panel doors
enclosing the upper portion; and a top that was built by hand with a large
carving tools and hinged from the back to reveal a secret compartment for
keepsakes.  The wood in this piece was Honduran / Guatemalan mahogany that was
lighter in color than that used in the sewing cabinet, and the wood was harder /
more resistent to scratching.  The large drawers, the entire exterior of the
carcase, the raised panel doors, the jewelry drawer fronts, and the top were all
tackled with several different polishers with the more stiff / thicker broom
straw tips.  This straw material responded better to polishing, and the
differeence before & after was noticeable and could be picked out with a camera
shot without flash; reflection of overhead lighting revealed which sections of
the material were and were not yet polished.  This chest measured 49=1/2” high
by 27” wide by 16” deep, and its style was intentionally built using typical
details used by eastern Connecticut cabinetmakers in the mid- to late-1700’s.
Finish was shellac & wax.

I’ve also used polishers to bring up the reflection of light on a rebuilt maple
dresser salvaged from a mid-20th century ‘colonial’ style bedroom set.  This
piece responded quite well with the polisher made with thicker straw to polish
the surface while simultaneously applying furniture wax, using the polisher to
both compress the surface of the maple and bring up the reflective surface of
wax.  Don Williams had advised his audience to saturate the polisher with wax by
heating the wax and setting the polisher in the liquid wax until it cools.  Once
cold, it is ready for use, and will slightly reduce the amount of vertical
needed to keep the polisher vertical and under control.

Where to Buy

If I wanted to obtain a new order of polishers, I would get in touch with Don
Williams.  He has been the only other person who was having these made for sale.
The donsbarn website is his.

Charlie Driggs