Whiskering?

[flehto]

Have  whiskered all the previous stocks, but in staining some trial blocks from the same blank, noticed that the alcohol based stains didn't raise the grain. So...am wondering if whiskering could be skipped? These blocks weren't whiskered but water did raise the grain on another block from this same blank. Do you guys always whisker the stocks w/ water, but if not, how do you work around it?

[wattlebuster]

I always whisker at least 3 times regardless of the stain I use. Might not help but sure cant hurt

[Acer Saccharum]

Walnut certainly need a good shave.

Sugar Maple, well, after an Aqua fortis staining and heating, a very light scrape is all ya need.

[Ed Wenger]

I think you'll find that the alcohol based stains won't raise grain like some other stains.  Having said that, I'd still raise the grain.  If you use a fine scotch brite pad, it goes fast.  Also, I think sometimes we tend to go a little overboard with the amount of water used to raise grain.  It really doesn't need to be much more than a damp, or well wrung out cloth.


          Ed

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Ed's right.  Be sure to whisker the wood before and even during staining.  If you don't, and you subject the gun to an accidental wetting, the grain'll raise under your finish, and then you're in a pickle.

[James Wilson Everett]

I always raise the grain before staining.  Almost always - well absolutely always - raising the grain will show some really boneheaded places that need more attention.  I blame these on those nasty gremlins who come into the shop late at night and smack the wood with their little hammers.

Jim

[Don Getz]

On your next wiskering job, try this..........add a small amount of yellow dye to some water, use it to raise the grain.  After
it is dry, it will show any unusual flaws, rasp marks, etc. , and it will not affect your final staining......Don

[Nate McKenzie]

Don. LMF honey maple stain does the same thing.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

I always whisker, NOW. (Don't Ask) When you do you will find scratches and small dents and little fuzzy areas that you thought were perfect, but somehow you missed. These won't show up if you don't whisker till after your third or forth coat of finish, THEN WHAT. Strip it all off and start over, THAT'S WHAT.

[Dennis Glazener]

I used to use a solution of water mixed with a little flour to make a weak glue. The water raises the grain and the flour causes the grain to stand stiff where it can be quickly cut off by a light sanding. Problem is it needs to dry for several hours or be dried with a heat gun.

I now use rubbing alcohol because it drys quickly.
Dennis

[hortonstn]

don,
what kind of yellow dye do you use?
thanks
paul

[Acer Saccharum]

food coloring might work. Not concentrated, just enough to make a tonal difference stand out when it seeps into a scratch.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Homer Dangler's yellow stain  thinned with alcohol works great

[aflo]

It seems to me that the best course is to just go through a series of papers to prepare the wood. I have used a heat gun which instantly brings up any whiskers too. There is nothing like going out in the sun light to see things. I realize my old neighbors in the midwest may not see the sun for months on end

[TMerkley]

Too much sun and not enough rain right now!

[Hungry Horse]

I don't get too carried away with the whiskering unless I am working in some type of wood that I am unlikely to use an acid stain on. Since I often use an acid stain even on walnut, I whisker once, and then whisker again, after I neutralize the acid stain. The heat that activates the acid, combined with the moisture in the stain usually raises the grain again anyway. I neutralize the stain either with baking soda and water, or potash and water.


                      Hungry Horse

[JCKelly]

If you do not whisker the wood it, walnut anyway, will Whisker Itself over the years from just indoor humidity.

19th Century US Musket walnut stocks were scraped, I do not believe sanded, then dunked in hot linseed oil (the real stuff, cold pressed not modern hardware) + turpentine (again real stuff).  Collectors really like to find muskets with that nice prickly surface, from the grain raising over the years. This means no one has refinished it.

[ironwolf]

   Don't bear down too heavily or you'll just expose more grain ends 

  Kevin

[Artificer]

Most of my experience has been with walnut, both original and new.  On new walnut, I whisker with Acetone because it leaves nothing behind on the wood that could harm it later and it dries so quickly.  Literally within a very few minutes, the stock is dry and ready to go over with the Scotchbrite type pads made for woodworking.    YES, you must have good ventilation (a fan blowing across it when you work has always worked well for me even in a small enclosed shop or basement) and you must take reasonble care against fire hazard, but I have ALWAYS had it around on my bench for almost 40 years now and never a problem with fire. 

Gus