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Hello - looking for advice on durable finish for pear wood

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will103:
Hi folks,

I am a bagpiper and during the first lockdown I decided to buy a lathe and turn my own bagpipe drones - a long held aim of mine. My interest is in 18th century instruments. I have turned a set of drones using pearwood, which is historically accurate and they sound good. However I have noticed that the wood is more prone to dings and scrapes than the harder tropical woods. What would you recommend as a hard wearing finish? I have tried boiled linseed oil and it works to some extent, but I am looking for better alternatives. Thanks, will

Bryan Milham:
I would not have used Boiled Linseed Oil. It soaks into the wood and dries, that's what the boiled part of the name indicates, its not boiled at all but contained metallised driers. Great for a waterproof coat on Tool Handles and Cricket bats but it does not harden the way you want.

I would have gone for Hard Wax Oil, it dries by polymerisation, forming a hard outer coat.

The same can be achieved by Danish Oil and Finishing Oil but more coats would be needed.

will103:
Good advice dr4g0nfly. Thankyou. Can I apply a hard wax oil to the wood now even though I have already applied linseed oil? Cheers, will

Bryan Milham:
Putting many finishes on top of an oil finish is not easy, but oil on top of oil can be done, so yes.

seventhdevil:
i'd turn them again and use danish oil.

what other woods have you thought of using that are historically accurate?

i guess things like service tree, field maple, laburnum and strawberry tree were often used.

lignum vitae has been available for hundreds of years so would have been used quite alot i would have thought.

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