Almond finishing

[zaxsta]

I'm pretty new to this, but I have a nice almond wood slab that I'm turning into a coffee table. Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but I basically want to achieve a nice, penetrative, high gloss finish on the table (it's a live edge slab) that wouldn't be dissimilar from a hardwood floor finish. I've read many, many articles on the subject and I'm quite lost - should I use a polymerized tung oil, or a polyurethane varnish? Shellac, perhaps? How fine should I sand the piece? I've done sandings at 120, 180, and 220 but I have no idea how far up I should go - I don't really want to sand out 10 different grains and run three or four coatings on each grain. I'm just looking for someone to help me set the boundaries a bit.

It's a 1700 on the janka hardness scale, in case anyone is wondering, and has beautiful gold and faint purple colors running throughout. If someone could give me some basic guidance for a high gloss finish that would really demonstrate the beauty of the grain, I'd appreciate it. Treat the question like I'd be doing hardwood floors with almond wood.

 

[havasu]

I'm sorry I can't help you with finishing details, but I sure would like to see a picture of this!

 

[Floorist]

I assume that this slab is full of knots like most almond? Just make sure that the knots will stay tight before you put a lot of work into it. And you really need to get a meter and check moisture content. Almond tends to hold a lot of moisture for a long time. If it was me, I would use poly. I don't really care for tung oil, but that is just a personal thing.

 

[zaxsta]

It is not full of knots; in fact, there are barely any. Haven't heard that almond is full of those. I have heard, however, that it likes to crack, and this piece does have a small crack in it that I'll fill in. As you can see, the piece doesn't really need to be shaped anymore - just sanded and finished. I think it'll hold together nicely.

It won't let me post multiple photos, so I'll do them individually.

 

[zaxsta]

Close-up, with some nice crack

 

[zaxsta]

Super close up of non-sanded grain, this is just the texture after being cut.

 

[Floorist]

Ok, well that is tropical almond, not almond. Two different species. Tropical almond does not have as many knots, but it is still slow drying. You still need to check the moisture content with a meter before you put a finish on it. It should make a beautiful piece, that's why you need to check moisture content. If it's too wet, it will warp and can split as it dries after it is finished.

 

[havasu]

We once purchased a coffee table similar to this. They inverted the top into resin and once set, coated the sides and bottom with resin. It was really great looking, except the bark beetles (or similar wood boring insects) inside were not killed before treatment, and after about 10 years, it pretty much turned to sawdust.

 

[Floorist]

We once purchased a coffee table similar to this. They inverted the top into resin and once set, coated the sides and bottom with resin. It was really great looking, except the bark beetles (or similar wood boring insects) inside were not killed before treatment, and after about 10 years, it pretty much turned to sawdust.

Common for furniture made from slabs like that. I would hope since he purchased that commercially (it has a tag on it) that it has been treated for worms/bugs. Too many people grab a slab from a woodpile and make something and the wood is too wet or infested and they have wasted their time and money. I made furniture for several years and it can be difficult to tell if the wood is infested.
At least it probably doesn't have that horrible smell you get when working with walnut. (I've never worked with almond, I am just assuming that it could not smell that bad)

 

[zaxsta]

Any suggestions on grit? I want to sand it down but not have it be too fine that it won't accept the finish.

 

[Nick]

80, then 100, then 120, then sand it with a 120 screen to remove all scratches the paper leaves . sand with the grain.

 

[EliteFloors]

Ken, I'd say that sanding sequence will work great. What are u planning to do the sanding with?! I've finished floors for nearly 20 years now. If it were me, I'd probably use a spar varnish or moisture cure urethane. The spar varnish is thick & hard to work with, but gives a great build. It's what I used on my mahogany exterior doors. If I were sanding it, i would use on of my small orbitals, turned almost all the way down on slow speed at first so as not to polish that dense beautiful piece. Good luck!

 

[larryfinleymagic]

I heard of a trick for killing bed bugs by putting stuffed toys in a freezer for 3 to 5 days. If your wood piece will fit in a freezer maybe that would eliminate any bugs, don't know. Does anyone know if freezing would do serious damage to the wood?

 

[DarisMulkin]

I heard of a trick for killing bed bugs by putting stuffed toys in a freezer for 3 to 5 days. If your wood piece will fit in a freezer maybe that would eliminate any bugs, don't know. Does anyone know if freezing would do serious damage to the wood?

I've always read bed bugs can't take heat. Dryer temps will kill them. Now cold, I don't think it affects to many bugs. They just go dormant.

Daris.

 

[havasu]

With my old bug ridden table, I planned on sealing plastic around it, then rigging up a heater to it to kill the bugs. I then got lazy and just pitched it into the trash.