February 19, 201214 yr I just recently read that someone did this on a bowl.  Seems the person sanded through all the grits of sand paper and then burnished it with wood shavings. This article just stated he used this process but  didn't explain the benefits of burnishing.  Has anyone tried this?  If so what are the advantages?  I am very curious.   SQHappiness is wood chips flying!
February 19, 201214 yr Author I have an excess of wood shaving.  More than you or I could use in a life time for burnishing.  Would be happy to COD you a truck load.   Thinking I should hang a shingle:  Burnishing supplies available. Reasonably priced.  Inquire within.  lol  SQCharles Nicholls said: I am not exactly clear on the burnishing myself but it seems to act as a buffing to bring out the shine better, and as you mentioned in our conversation, may also show imperfactions in the tooling of the item (may show scratches better.). Unfortunately in my case, until recently, my shavings have been too fine to use for that. Charlesnicholls61@att.nethttp://www.nichollswoodworks.comThis website is new so it doesn't have much to it yet but you are welcome to take a look
February 19, 201214 yr Sq, I have never burnished with shavings but I have burnished with a brown paper bag.Ron DudelstonAbove and Beyond WoodWorks
February 19, 201214 yr Burnishing is an excellent way to add that finishing touch after sanding. If you have some of those micro mesh pads, you can try a little experiment. Sand thru the grits you usually use (12000 ?) then try stopping at about 400 or 800 and then burnish with the project shavings. I find there is very little difference in the end result, thus saving a lot of money on those finer grits. Â Of course, results vary from species to species but all in all the burnishing with shavings really works well and the price is right!Ron's suggestion of the brown paper bag is also a good one! Especially the price!!Lew-Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!
February 19, 201214 yr SQ,Burnishing is simply heating up the wood surface, which causes the pores to close, creating a high gloss sheen. It can be accomplished with just about anything; wood shavings, paper. cardboard, cotton cloth. There are some sites on the web that explain it better than i can,russNo greater Loves than God, Family, Friends, country, the sight of flying chips and the smell of saw dust.
February 19, 201214 yr Author Lew,Excellent idea! Â I will try it. Â Thanks.SQLewis Kauffman said:Burnishing is an excellent way to add that finishing touch after sanding. If you have some of those micro mesh pads, you can try a little experiment. Sand thru the grits you usually use (12000 ?) then try stopping at about 400 or 800 and then burnish with the project shavings. I find there is very little difference in the end result, thus saving a lot of money on those finer grits. Â Of course, results vary from species to species but all in all the burnishing with shavings really works well and the price is right!Ron's suggestion of the brown paper bag is also a good one! Especially the price!!Lew-Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!
February 19, 201214 yr Author Russell,Thinking I might have to add this step to the bowl process. Thanks for the information.SQÂ Russell Brechlin said:SQ,Burnishing is simply heating up the wood surface, which causes the pores to close, creating a high gloss sheen. It can be accomplished with just about anything; wood shavings, paper. cardboard, cotton cloth. There are some sites on the web that explain it better than i can,russNo greater Loves than God, Family, Friends, country, the sight of flying chips and the smell of saw dust.
February 21, 201214 yr I have used the shaving on a bowl to burnish with.You can even burnish with the sand paper. As the paper loads up with dust it will do some of the same affect.John MoodyJohn Moody Woodworkshttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
February 21, 201214 yr The advantage is you get a shiny surface.They are sort of similar between wood and metal What happens in wood is not at all what happens in metal and I believe that the the word is a metal working term that may not be appropriate to wood. Wiki has a pretty good working definition.In terms of look and feel burnishing might seem pretty much the same whether it's metal work or wood work. The superficial effect that things come off with a polished look. In steel and copper based metals Burnishing usually affects the first couple of thousandths of metal, work hardening it as well as aligning the crystalline grain structure and closes up surface scratches by rolling them into each other.In all metals, whether they can be work hardened or not, burnishing is not a stock removal process but a material reforming process.  In wood I believe much of what is going on is  abrasive. But there may be more.Abrasion is  less complicated than burnishing. But it makes for a shinier surface & closes up surface scratches.  .    I am unsure whether the word burnishing is the best word to use for the act of of substituting saw shavings for sand paper in woodworking, because of the stark disparities between what is actually happening in the material when one burnishes metal as opposed to wood.But people like the word.   I think polishing might be the better word. It might also be insufficient. Rubbing saw shavings on a wood surface at high speed on a lathe produces heat (if one rubs hard that is).   Sufficient highly localized Heat may loosen the lignin bonds in the wood fibers near the surface allowing them to be  bent over in one direction and then when the lignin re-establishes itself to remain there permanently thus  giving the surface a sheen that might refract light  in a unique way.  A very different process from metal burnishing but something much more than polishing
February 21, 201214 yr Great explanation, Cliff, Thanks!!Cliff R said:The advantage is you get a shiny surface.They are sort of similar between wood and metal What happens in wood is not at all what happens in metal and I believe that the the word is a metal working term that may not be appropriate to wood. Wiki has a pretty good working definition.In terms of look and feel burnishing might seem pretty much the same whether it's metal work or wood work. The superficial effect that things come off with a polished look. In steel and copper based metals Burnishing usually affects the first couple of thousandths of metal, work hardening it as well as aligning the crystalline grain structure and closes up surface scratches by rolling them into each other.In all metals, whether they can be work hardened or not, burnishing is not a stock removal process but a material reforming process.  In wood I believe much of what is going on is  abrasive. But there may be more.Abrasion is  less complicated than burnishing. But it makes for a shinier surface & closes up surface scratches.  .    I am unsure whether the word burnishing is the best word to use for the act of of substituting saw shavings for sand paper in woodworking, because of the stark disparities between what is actually happening in the material when one burnishes metal as opposed to wood.But people like the word.   I think polishing might be the better word. It might also be insufficient. Rubbing saw shavings on a wood surface at high speed on a lathe produces heat (if one rubs hard that is).   Sufficient highly localized Heat may loosen the lignin bonds in the wood fibers near the surface allowing them to be  bent over in one direction and then when the lignin re-establishes itself to remain there permanently thus  giving the surface a sheen that might refract light  in a unique way.  A very different process from metal burnishing but something much more than polishing
February 22, 201214 yr Author Cliff,Agree with Lewis, excellent explanation.  Thanks for the information.SQCliff R said:The advantage is you get a shiny surface.They are sort of similar between wood and metal What happens in wood is not at all what happens in metal and I believe that the the word is a metal working term that may not be appropriate to wood. Wiki has a pretty good working definition.In terms of look and feel burnishing might seem pretty much the same whether it's metal work or wood work. The superficial effect that things come off with a polished look. In steel and copper based metals Burnishing usually affects the first couple of thousandths of metal, work hardening it as well as aligning the crystalline grain structure and closes up surface scratches by rolling them into each other.In all metals, whether they can be work hardened or not, burnishing is not a stock removal process but a material reforming process.  In wood I believe much of what is going on is  abrasive. But there may be more.Abrasion is  less complicated than burnishing. But it makes for a shinier surface & closes up surface scratches.  .    I am unsure whether the word burnishing is the best word to use for the act of of substituting saw shavings for sand paper in woodworking, because of the stark disparities between what is actually happening in the material when one burnishes metal as opposed to wood.But people like the word.   I think polishing might be the better word. It might also be insufficient. Rubbing saw shavings on a wood surface at high speed on a lathe produces heat (if one rubs hard that is).   Sufficient highly localized Heat may loosen the lignin bonds in the wood fibers near the surface allowing them to be  bent over in one direction and then when the lignin re-establishes itself to remain there permanently thus  giving the surface a sheen that might refract light  in a unique way.  A very different process from metal burnishing but something much more than polishing
February 22, 201214 yr  When I turn spindles, i will grab a piece of matching hardwood( like Oak) and burnish the spindle smooth with it.    I like the idea of a long stick i can control, more than a handful of shavings i'm pressing against a spinning piece of wood with my bare hands.   The shopsmith demo one year at the Ohio State Fair showed how to do it.   They also showed a way to darken a piece by hold the burnisher a bit too long in just the right places.  'and may the road raise up to meet ye'
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