finishing pecan bed

[pigman]

I am working on a pecan bed and two night stands. I am somewhat finishing challenged and want to know what wound be a good finish to put them. I have spraying equipment and  brushes. I started on this project back in Sept. and need to get it finished. The customer says he is sleeping on the floor now. I like to look at pecan, but I hate to work with it.

Bob

[Don K]

Can't help with finish, but will follow closely as I've had a stack drying for a year and am planning a couple of projects. I know it is a hard wood like hickory.   Don

[Brad_S.]

Since you have spraying capability, IMO you just can't beat the look of a sprayed nitro-cellulose lacquer satin finish. Durable, pretty, repairable and easy to apply with the right equipment.
If you have a Sherwin Williams Professional store near you, SW makes a good lacquer. (The average SW paint store won't know what you're talking about.)

[Quartlow]

I've take a personal preference to M.L Campells products myself

http://www.mlcampbell.com/pages/home.asp

It's almost stupid proof, even I can spray it and thats saying something

[pigman]

Thanks for the replies.   Quartlow,   

It's almost stupid proof,

is not good enough for me, I need something stupid proof. :

Bob

[Don_Papenburg]

He was bein nice Bob , go ahead and use it .  I plan on switching most all of my finnishing over to laquer of one type or another .   I only use clear finnish on my projects , I figure if it needs color added then I should make it out of mdf crap.   

[pigman]

I was kidding with Quartlow. I can't find the nearest distributor for MLCampells because it takes a spreadsheet program to open the file and this new computer doesn't have that program. I think I need to grab some programs off the old computer. I suppose I could just call the 800 number on the website and ask.

Bob

[TexasTimbers]

I agree with Brad. I am a recent lacquer convert!

[pigman]

Here are a couple pictures of the pecan bed. I have  done panel beds with flat and raised panels,  but this is the first time I have done angled panels. I try to do what the customer wants. If a person learns by their mistakes than I should be a lot smarter after this bed. I put some lacquer on the panels before I did the glue up so when the panels shrink there will not be any unfinished wood showing.




I am starting on the two night stands. At the rate I did the bed I should be finished with them by July. ;D

Edit:  I just noticed that the picture of the headboard is of the back side. The front side looks better I think. : I noticed because there was no finish on the panels. There was   a lot of dust on my glasses when I took the picture and I couldn't tell what was the front side.

[TexasTimbers]

Beautiful. Nice layout with the contrasting light/dark boards. 

[SwampDonkey]

Nice work bob, love the wood. Pecan probably has little surprise knots or dark spots like butternut when you plane and joint. I have discovered a few little hidden hard knots about 1/4" to 1/2" diameter. Most times I hide them on the inside faces, but they would look fine on the up face to. I found some weird inclusions that I wouldn't call a knot, it will show itself on the edge of the board but not surface on the broad faces. Never seen nothing like it.

[Norm]

Very nice Bob, I'm hoping to be able to try out my bed making skills this spring. Both sons were home this Christmas and commented how uncomfortable the guest beds were....yeah like that was by accident. :D

[Fla._Deadheader]

  Too funny, Norm.  :D :D :D :D :D :D

[SwampDonkey]

I know the feeling them boys went through with a bad bed. My uncle insists on using old slat springs that the dinosaurs slept on and I can't sleep in a bed that feels like I'm laying in a hammock, with my butt sag'n and my feet elevated above my knees.  :

[Don K]

Bob, Nice looking work. I didn't know pecan had such beautiful wood until I joined the Forum.

[Paschale]

That is beautiful wood, and a great looking bed!   8)   How far north does pecan grow?  Anyone know?

[pigman]

Code Select Expand

How far north does pecan grow?    I have only seen two  around here and I sawed both of them. They were planted in the back yard of an old house next to the Ohio River.

Bob

[SwampDonkey]

Paschale, it's mostly along the drainage of the Mississippi R and Gulf coast rivers but on dryer knolls, eastern Tx and eastern Mexico. As far north at eastern Iowa and east to southern Indiana. It's planted in the Carolinas and Virginia for nut production, also planted in other states to the south and west. In nature it is quite scattered in abundance.

[Larry]

Pecan nuts is big business across a narrow band in central Missouri.  The farmers sell nuts out of the back of there pickup's along most of the major highways.

Sometimes the market for pecan lumber gets overheated and to relieve the pressure a lot of hickory gets mixed in.

[WDH]

That pecan is beautiful, pigman.  That will be a super nice bed!

[Riles]

Surprisingly, the largest producer of pecans in the US is Arizona.

[SwampDonkey]

Not really, Mexico is also a big producer as well.

Water problems in Mexico

[WDH]

Pigman,

I made some pecan wainscott from quartersawn pecan for my mudroom.  I stained the pecan with a 50:50 mix of minwax golden oak and minwax provincial.  The topcoat is Minwax quick drying satin polyurethane.  Here are a few pics...



Here is more of a close-up..



The sapwood is honey brown and the heartwood has a little red in it.

[SwampDonkey]

Nice job WDH, now we even have some pics of wainscoting. Very popular in old houses around here, only thing is it tended to get painted.  :

[WDH]

Most wainscoting I see today in new houses is painted beadboard from 4x8 beadboard panels.  I am a traditionalist and like the old style wood wainscoting.  In my house, I have the pecan, oak, cypress, and walnut wainscotting in various parts of the house.  Nothing like having a sawmill  8).  Of course it does not take a sawmill, you just have to like real wood!