It’s called finish for a reason.

Where’s my soapbox?….

I’ve come to the decision recently that applying finish is the difference between a project and something I just slapped together.

Even as simple as rubbing a coat of oil onto it shows that this is a thing I’ve made and intend to keep.

I like boiled linseed oil a lot. It goes on with minimal or even zero prep. I find the nutty odor pleasant.

When I built the potting shed, I cut a pair of spacers to ensure that my studs were 16” on center. I wrote “spacer” on them, but they still look like off cuts. Twice in the past year they almost got tossed.

When I built the base cabinet for the drill press, it didn’t feel like a real thing until I started rubbing the BLO onto it.

So moving forward, I’m going to apply some sort of finish to everything that is going to be kept. Single use jigs probably won’t get finish.

What’s your favorite shop finish?

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Author: rexplex

With a bachelors degree in history, I turn wrenches for a living. I’m most at peace when I hear the wind in the trees or the gurgle of a brook. I’m a believer in the Renaissance Man, as epitomized by DaVinci engineer, artist, soldier, statesman. As Heinlein said, “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

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