Spare Parts #14 - French Polishing A Piece Of Red Morrel Burl
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- French Polishing A Piece Of Red Morrel Burl, by Clickspring.
In this video I use the traditional French Polishing technique to apply a shellac coating to the Large Wheel Skeleton Clock base.
This Spare parts video is related to the full length project video titled "How To Make A Clock In The Home Machine Shop - Part 19 - Making The Legs And Base": • Clockmaking - How To M...
If you would like to help support the creation of these videos, then head on over to the Clickspring Patreon page: / clickspring
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A very special thank you to Patrons Dan Keen, Samuel Irons and Sean Kuyper.
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Cameras used in this video:
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Panasonic X920 - amzn.to/2wzxxdT
Abbreviated Transcript:
00:05 I've just completed machining this piece of Red Morrel Burl that I'll be using for the base of the clock. Its a beautifully figured piece of wood, and I think an ideal candidate for a French Polish. But I do need to do some work on the surfac finish before I can get started.
00:22 For the most part its a case of going over each surface with fine grit abrasive paper, and filling the small cracks where necessary. The 2 large cavities on the underside I'll be leaving as is. They're what remains of the original surface of the wood when the burl was harvested, and I like the idea of them remaining in place as a feature of that surface.
00:53 The shellac solution can be purchased ready mixed, but it's also quite easy to make a fresh batc from raw shellac flakes and denatured alcohol. In this case I'm making what is referred to as a "2lb cut" solution, which seems to be a good general purpose mix. Check the description box below for some more information on the quantities.
01:23 The mix starts out quite thick, but after an hour or so the shellac flakes fully dissolve, and the solution can be transferred to a more convenient bottle. I need a small amount of olive oil, to lubricate the pad during the polishing process. And for the pad itself a section of linen, and some cotton wadding that'll go inside to act as a reservoir for the polish.
02:19 Now strictly speaking the term "French Polish" refers to the process of applying the shellac, rather than the shellac solution itself. Each wipe of the pad applies a thin film of the solution, and as the alcohol evaporates, the barest hint of a layer of shellac is left behind. Its a slow and repetitive process, that gradually builds up the coating, layer upon layer.
03:20 Again charging the pad with a small amount
of shellac, and then lubricating with a drop of oil as the friction increases. A good sign that all is going as it should, is a visible trail left by the alcohol as evaporates. That trail gets shorter and the alcohol flashes off faster as the pad continues to dry out.
:03:46 Eventually, a shiny crust of shellac forms on the surface of the pad, which makes its action across the surface sleek and smooth. It now becomes possible to burnish the surfac for the first time. I'm pressing quite firmly here, and you can see the sheen of the surface immediately start to improve.
04:05 Even with considerable pressure, the pad glides smoothly over the shellac coating which is still soft and pliable, so it gives a little under the pressure, evening out the fine stroke marks and forming a more uniform surface.
04:25 As the surface continues to develop over subsequent polishing sessions, I stop adding additional shellac, and instead add pure alcohol to the inside of the pad. This dissolves the residual shellac in the wadding, and so further dilutes the solution being applied. And with the completion of this third polishing session,
04:49 I'm going to leave the top surface as it is, and give it a light wipe with a dry pad to remove the majority of the oil. Another 12 hours of curing, and then I can safely flip the workpiece and apply a similar coating to the other surface.
05:44 Now there's no avoiding the fact that this is a very time consuming process, and I guess for that reason alone French Polishing has largely been replaced by more convenient wood finishing processes. Its reasonably fragile and susceptible to being marked by water and alcohol. But its also quite easy to repair, and for a cheap, environmentally friendly, and thoroughly traditional
wood finish, its certainly hard to beat.
Music:
"Manifested" By Ketsa.
www.ketsamusic.com
Quantities for a "2 lb Cut"
www.shellac.ne...
Burl sourced from Djarilmari Timbers in Western Australia
www.djarilmari....
French Polishing A Piece Of Red Morrel Burl, by Clickspring.
That is beautiful. I was taught always do the bottom or back of your project first. Saves accidental damage to the face side. Nice job.
Thank you. It's hard to find a video under 30 minutes long.
French polish is actually quite easy. It does take time, but most of that is waiting between sessions. I think a lot of people never try it because it has a reputation of being difficult and exacting, but I’ve always enjoyed using it.
It does not take that long between each layer. You could do it in 10 minute intervals if you wanted to.
As an alternative you could do a shellac buffed finish that gives a sort of french polish shine but not as pronounced. And that could take just 3 layers with the first being painted on and then the next two rubbed on with light sanding.
This man is a real artist, one of very few youtubers that deserve a real prize: calm and soothing voice, outstanding A/V recording and video editing and lighting, the subject choices of the videos are absolutely delightful for the eyes (this could be a boring spray lacquer video), very precise and clean descriptions of what he's making, and of course the piece itself, the clock, with all the know how about turning, blueing, polishing, gearing, knurling, tempering...
First in my personal youtube ranking.
My compliments Sir.
Thank you Luigi, very much appreciate the encouraging words :)
Luigi & Clickspring : Since my English is very bad, I could hardly write a comment like that of Luigi. His comment renders very precisely my feeling. All the people I showed your video "1000 hours in 12 minutes" were amazed, regardless of their degree of machining skills.
its called carpenter.
This is NOT how this is done in the right traditional way.
I can't get over how beautiful that wood is. Btw, your channel is one of my favorites.
Thank you mate, terrific to have you watching :)
This is the best French Polish tutorial/example I've seen. So many have tried to explain this in a way that isn't like it's some magic process, but have, IMO, failed.
Thanks Pete, much appreciated :)
jup
You must haven't seen much, then. This is not the best or the most professional way.
Eclipse Solar 83 link to a better way?
to be fair: this is a fairly basic method on a relatively easy workpiece.
I don't understand something. What is not to like? Why give thumbs down? If you don't like the results, give credit for the skills and knowledge. Again Chris, another educating and wonderful video.
oh my god that is probably the most beautiful wood i have ever seen
That's what she said
@@ttiization man of culture. i tip my hat to you.
ttiization I just was about to type that. Until I opened the comments. Lmao. Well done.
This is my go to comfort/relaxing video.
Dr DeVilbiss invented the spraygun in 1888. Many fine furniture makers resisted the temptation to switch to sprayed finishes, and continued to use french polishing, applied by hand. Having watched this video, I now know why! Another mouth-watering display of craftsmanship. Thank you so much. :o)
Cheers John :)
very refreshing to see a french polish done plain and simple no hocus pocus or black magic nonsense, just good old fashion method with time, elbow grease and patience. It reminds me of my childhood sitting at the side of my fathers work bench being taught what had been taught to him by old masters. thank you for the very well done video and trip down memory lane. just incredible craftsmanship and much respect to you for sharing it.
Terrific to have you watching mate :)
I am a woodworker in the US, and I am in awe of that wood. We have burl here but that piece is truly beautiful.
When finished the wood has what i can only describe as depth and it is simply beautiful. It looks like it come to life in some sort of lovecraftian way.
Devastated ! Have just devoured the 19 parts thus far in a day, only to find that this is a current build and it ain't finished yet! I think I started too early.
As if creating this piece was not time consuming enough, you also go about producing a fine video to go along with it. I don't do any machining myself, but I think I'm watching what I would have done with my life if I had thought about it a bit. Just love watching you work a piece of brass down to a polished item. Very satisfying.
So... Next vid... Tick tick tick.
Thanks for taking the time to check 'em out :)
This is the best example of French polish I've seen to date. God job, bro.
One CAN NOT OVERSTATE the importance of a *dust free environment* during application.
ExtantFrodo2 Well, I guess I can't really do this in anywhere other than my kitchen, which then everyone will yell at me "YOU'RE WORKING WITH CHEMICALS IN THE HOUSE OH MY GOOOOD" and not allow me to explain what I'm doing.
Steve Zukley This really isn't an issue with shellac. It is used as a food ingredient. The only thing 'toxic' is the alcohol.
Man you are a crazy person! Polishing the bottom of a base. Absolutely beautiful work
That piece of wood and the finis combo is unbelievable! :)
What a stunning piece of timber. I appreciate your clear thorough explanation of French polishing. I like the idea of adding alcohol to the pad towards the end.
You know I just keep finding myself watching and rewatching and rewatching your videos, totally intranced and inspired. I do truly hope I can make some things as beautiful as you accomplish in the future. Truly a inspirational watch every one of your videos.
Shellac is an awesome finish! Even now it is used for making acoustic instruments, the instrument can vibrate so much better when finished with this technique! Thanks for sharing!
hmm, there are quite a few asterisks tho.
1) the polish used on - for example - violins and concert guitars has a lot of addatives and is applied a bit differently. a pure shellac varnish is often used for the polish, but wouldnt stand up quite as well against sweat, rosin, etc.
2) it is not so much that shellac is sonically superior. the advantages come down to the relatively thin application and the fast curing time needed to reach full hardness. industrial coatings often take years or decades to reach the same level of cure that shellac achieves in the first two years. but this is mainly due to the fact that most lacquer formulas just werent developed with music instruments in mind.
in general we love to use shellac bc it is easily repaired, easy to work with (regarding storage and safety), forms thin layers, is easily adjusted for viscosity and other properties like color, toughness, etc and cures fast.
many of these properties could be achieved with other products too - we dont have enough buying power as instrument makers to be attractive targets for development of products tho.
a lot of my colleagues achieve excellent results with oil, nitrocellulose or resin finishes though.
Great job. That is the best description of how to french polish / apply shellac that I've ever heard. Thank you.
I was taught to French polish at the age of 10 years old. I have not done any for well over 60 years now, but I think that I will try it on some of my wood turned pieces.😀🇬🇧
Never seen such a 3-dimensional finish on a wood. Amazing.
What a beautiful piece of wood, and a fine finish too.
being french, I clicked on this video just for the name of the practice, but I discovered the most beautiful and soft polishing method ever ^^
From some angles the wood looks like a marble pattern. It's gorgeous!
Truly remarkable craftsmanship and material. What a pleasure to watch. Thank you.
I love your work. Your craftsmenship is outstanding. I make my own Shallac also and use it on nearly every project. I've never heard of Red Morrel Burl, I suppose it's something only available in Austrailia. Wonderful country and people, I was there in 1969 on R&R in Sydney.
Best tutorial I've ever seen on the french polish. Well done, sir.
Well ! I think this is just about the very best tutorial on French polishing I have seen, not only to you show the application technique, but how to mix the polish as well. And the piece of wood you have chosen is outstanding, an ideal piece for this application, it is nice that you applied a balancing coat to the underside as well, although I think a first time French polisher would perhaps be better off applying the underside finish first, to get enough confidence when he attempted the visable top side, where his rubber would get stuck to the finish! Many thanks for posting. Chris B.
Cheers mate :)
Excellent video as always Chris! Possibly the best quick demo on French Polishing I've ever seen, glad to see you staying with the old-school standard process. With some practice & dedication this is a process anyone can eventually master. Keep up the great work!
I have never seen this process before. Thanks for telling the steps and walking us through it. The finish is stunning! A fitting base for your beautiful clock.
I learned more from this than the teachers at my furniture school. I actually feel like giving french polishing another go now!
Your videos are amazing. Not only the amazing craft you are sharing but as a picture itself, it is art. The camera, the angles, the light, the narration, the sound recoding, the editing, the storytelling...all of it. As far as i surfed in youtube (and did a lot!) your video production is the best among makers/craftsman (im not writing this this comment just because im hipnotized by the burls) thank you very very much.
Perfect beautiful harmony with the clock. Almost like the finished wood has fallen from heaven! Strange how beauty has been forgotten in most houses,mat least in the UK, where mdf dominates. But beauty is the dominant force behind civilisation making when you see it, such as here, a profoundly moving & delightful experience.
Holy mother of shellac! That’s GORGEOUS!!
I was just thinking that it had been awhile since your last video and I was wondering what could be so time consuming. French polishing; that explains it. Cheers mate! The build is looking beautiful.
I had the opportunity to work with a bit of birch burl a while ago. What a lovely sort of wood to play with!
Fantastic piece of wood and great summary of a french polish.
FYI, I developed a quicker way when refinishing a dresser top for a buddy to accomplish much the same thing. I applied the shellac with a brush, laying it on thick, then let it dry for 2 days. Then went over it with 220 followed by 320 grit sandpaper on a palm sander. After this, I used a french polish technique, but it took very little time & produced a much thicker, more protective, coat of shellac. (Doing a piece of wood this size would have taken me roughly 7-10 days after work to complete using traditional methods. This way took only 2 short days and it looks amazing.)
Gorgeous wood and beautiful finish you applied. Will look terrific with the brass clock!
It always makes me smile when I see click spring in the list of new uploads. And you never let me down when it comes to new information and the way it is supposed to be done. Thanks again for the smile on my face and greetings from the Netherlands
this is the nicest piece of wood i've ever seen
Holy cow! That is dedication to finishing wood! Great job Chris!
Cheers Andrea!!
yet again Chris your skills seem to be endless, a truly beautiful piece of wood worthy of the work of art you are making to sit on it, i found the whole polishing process immensely satisfying to watch, brilliant!!
wow that wood has so much depth and beautiful colors in it.... it looks amazing with that finish on it.
you're a very fine craftsman. it's a pleasure watching your videos.
This is the video that got me into your channel. I had been watching a lot of wood working videos, and this finishing video was great and I'm glad you were working with such a gorgeous piece of wood. Seeing that this was for a clock you were machining got me to start watching the rest of the videos on this channel. You make absolutely incredible videos and your work on the Antikythera mechanism is mesmerizing. I look forward to more videos from this channel.
You are an absolute master at your craft and your videos are extremely professional. Love them!
Truly beautiful. Unreal level of craftsmanship throughout this whole project, you're a great inspiration.
My First french polishing project was a restoration of a junk-shop, walnut drop-leaf table. It was many years ago when I was in my early 20's. It took many weeks to complete and I have never tackled anything as large since. I must have put nearly 100 layers on it and it looked like glass. However, the feeling of pride and accomplishment when it was completed still lives with me to this day. I don't think there are many modern methods that come close to a finish like that.
The only difference between your method and mine is that I used linseed oil as a lubricant instead of olive oil.
thank you for your clear and informative presentation.A Shellac finish is so complimentary to the eye and touch. A joy to watch
that is hands down the most beautiful piece of wood i have ever seen. totally making a guitar body out of it, or at least a vainer.
Wow, this is perfect! Tried it for the first time, and this quick video helped me tremendously!
the combination of that burl and the french polishing look amazing! WOW that looks SO GOOD!!!
Absolutely beautiful. Fantastic job, Chris.
what a beautiful finish chris
That is one of the most beautiful burls i have ever seen. Just gorgeous!
I had your card press video recommended to me and I watched it. This was recommended a few hours later. After hearing your tutorial I’m subbed. 👍🏻
Magnificent, as usual... I always find myself smiling at the end of your videos. So much beauty...
That burl is out of this world!
That is a beautiful piece of wood, to go with a beautiful clock.
Wow, your videos are edited very well. you have the perfect narrating voice. I'd love to see a workshop tour.
The Wood is beautiful, Outstanding finishing process, thanks again for sharing Chris
Great job. Such beautiful wood.
What little I know says you're right on the money with your polishing technique. We polish pianos by the acre, using Landis larch resin shellac, sprayed, levelled with razor blades, then orange shellac applied by fad, then benzoe glaze. The Landis dries quickly and is particularly durable. Your results are stunning.
Cheers Paul :)
Your use of oil early in the process is new to me. Others seem to use it as a later process. I will try your method. The lighter fluid is a good idea too
Absolutely lovely work mate - well done.
Cheers Stephen, I appreciate you taking the time to tune in :)
That's one of the most beautiful pieces of wood I have ever seen.
The french polishing is impressive but,, that is a stunning piece of wood!
Thanks now I know what french polishing is all about...I also figured morrel was WA timber..
I now live on the south coast and have been playing with the local sheoak..It also has a lovely freckled red tinge to the wood..It looks nice,,regards E
chris, i've been watching your videos for a while now. I really enjoy watching em, and i have to give you a huge compliment! i've never seen someone working with such passion an love to his workpiece!
Keep the good work! keep the videos coming :)
Thank you - this is an excellent video tutorial. I look forward to watching all the rest in the compilation series.
You did it. I just happen to have some old furniture from my parents that are laquered in this way that have some damage on the polish. They hired a maid to clean the house and she used the wrong solution on the pieces and they have "burn" marks (white, where the shellac went off). I thought there is no way to ever fix them, but I instantly recognized the shine from your part, just never knew about the process. I am so glad I stumbled upon this video by accident, now I can buy some shellac (cheap as fuck) and restore them.
THANK YOU.
Have you fucked up your furniture yet, lol more to it than meets the eye.
Stunning finish, perfect teaching narration.
Not only a metal magician, also a wood wizard!
Excellent as always!
Jim
I love your videos. They give me an unexplicable sense of peace. I feel hypnotized not only by your tremendous skills, but also for your unrelenting attention to detail and incredible patience. You should work at Patek Philip or some swiss watchmaker. My most heartfelt kudos to you.
My only regret is that there are very few videos on your channel. But that's understandable; it's like asking Michelangelo to produce Davids like sausages.
Thank you very much for the kind words Federico, more videos on the way soon :)
*****
I had to google what a poof is (I'm argentinian). He certainly sounds very soft mannered. I don't know him, so I don't know if he's gay. Whatever the case may be, I don't see how that would change my opinion about him or why should it change yours. The guy makes amazing things and that's why I enjoy so much watching his videos. What he does in his private life is none of my business and, honestly, I couldn't care less about anyone's sexual preferences. It doesn't change my opinion of them in the very least if they go one way or the other. Freddie Mercury was extremely gay, would that stop you from enjoying his extraordinay talent? If yes, then you're an idiot.
I don't know why people focus so much on others' preferences. I never understood that. I also came to realize that most of my favourite people are gay (I don't know if it's usually that way or if it just happens that the gay friends I have are just really cool people).
It's really sad that what should be so simple with a little common sense becomes an issue. This case is just an example. You like oranges, I like apples and he likes pears; what does it matter???
Federico AE Couldn't agree more. Clickspring is like maker's meth to me. I admire Chris tremendously.
Federico AE And by the way: saludos desde Brasil!
Chris, wow! Just...wow! That is amazingly beautiful! :D Thank you for sharing!
The wood looks like liquid fire caught in pause frame......superb
I am definetly voting for a Steam/Sterling engine after the clock is finished in 2019 with video #93 :D
Ha ha! Yes I'll never set any records for speed! Will definitely do an engine in the future, thanks for the suggestion and great to have you watching mate :)
you should maybe make one just large enough so you can ride it.
That would be AMAZING.
Very well done! Beautiful piece of wood, looks like marble!
he did one pass and it already looked gorgeous
Thank you for all your videos! I really enjoyed to watching the progress of this clock. It came out beautiful! Have a peaceful Christmas and a Happy New Year!
A beautiful piece of wood. Great job! Thanks for sharing!
You should definitely make a chess set with brass and aluminium for the black and white with a burl frame on the board using the scraps from this if you have any!
Yes that would be a great project, and I like your suggestion of materials,thank you Lee
+Clickspring No problem, I'd love to see it :)
+Clickspring Definitely gives you a chance to do a lot of freehand turning! (and possibly a bit of carving for the cross on the King and also the Knights)
I never knew what it was called before, but I love that kind of finish on wood.
The grain of that particular piece of wood is really interesting. The underside looks like it could serve as a background for a painting of a scene from Dante's Inferno.
It looks amazing already after the first session
Beautiful work, Chris!
This looks amazing Chris, absolutely beautiful.
that looks like a gorgeous base for a hand made clock
Shellac is a waxy substance called lac excreted by female lac bugs, in case anyone didn't know. I think it's interesting that such a useful thing is made by insects off the top of my head I can only think of silk and honey as two other products we get from insects.
Wax from the larva of the Ibota insect (Ericerus pela) is used in Japan for certain traditional crafts including lubricating the burnishing needle during the polishing of the ridge of Japanese swords.
Cochineal extract, which is used as a red food colorant, comes from another scale insect - the cochineal. So the next time you have a "grapefruit" beer with bright pink color, yes, you are drinking powdered bugs. Yay!
I believe there is a red food coloring made from a certain beetle, forget the details now.
@@mattclaus7690 cochineal!
how did you miss beeswax!!
@@gabedamien and lipstick and other womens makeup
That is a beautiful piece of wood!
Oh my god, so much depth in that wood.
Very good instruction! I use grain alcohol (Everclear) instead of denatured as I understand it's not as toxic for your skin to absorb.
Now that looks amazing! You could go for a swim in that finish!
hi, great work.
Wouldn't it make sense to start first with the back of the base to avoid possible scratches at the face of the base?
Also it is most necessary to avoid later any water on the finished piece. I made a drawer cabinet 20 years ago with shellac finish ( 3 weeks to finish the polishing ). Later the flower vase placed careless on top of it made me aware & more cautious ;-)
cheers
Herri
Of course, that is THE problem with a shellac finish: it's too fragile to exist in our modern world, which makes demands on every damned thing!
I'm 76, have been around old-world craftsmen since less than 10 years old. None of them use shellac: it's too time consuming and cannot be cost efficient. This is why more than 50 years ago lacquer became the choice of industry.
Of course the problem with lacquer is that to do it effectively one needs a spray booth which is a capital cost, but spread over 25+ years it can be worthwhile.
Wonderful detailed video. I'm surprised to see no pumice or sandpaper between coats, since that seems to be mentioned anywhere you read about the process. It seems to work here without it
wow now that looks amazing beautiful work
What a wonderful video!