Saturday, April 23, 2011

Making It Shine

After Polishing
The scratches on top of my cherry and brass level were really distracting and made it look a little slipshod.

So, I took friends' advice and ordered polishing papers, which worked really well.

I went through these successive grits: 400, 600, 1200, 4000, 6000, and 8000.

The level is much shinier than before, but I could have spent a few more minutes on some areas where light scratches still remain.

And there they shall. I've moved on to other fun projects.
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10 comments:

  1. Mark RhodesApril 23, 2011 at 3:03 PM

    That's turned out really beautiful, I like it a lot.

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  2. ChrisApril 23, 2011 at 4:55 PM

    Really nice and classic! If you follow the polishing papers with a little Brasso, it should take out most of the remaining micro scratches.

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  3. Dyami PlotkeApril 23, 2011 at 5:21 PM

    Nice and shiny, Kari. Well done on the level.

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  4. Kari HultmanApril 23, 2011 at 5:25 PM

    Thanks, guys. The cherry has darkened quite a bit, which is really nice.

    Chris, thanks for the tip. I'll get some and try it.

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  5. EricApril 24, 2011 at 1:04 AM

    Absolutely top notch Kari.

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  6. UnknownApril 24, 2011 at 1:24 AM

    Wonderful work. Congratulations!

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  7. WoodblokeApril 28, 2011 at 3:04 AM

    Kari - good job with the polishing papers. Brasso is great stuff, but if you can't get it, a little metal polish will also suffice - Rob

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  8. CharlesMay 4, 2011 at 10:46 PM

    Nice level.

    Remember to put all the screw slots in the same direction!

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  9. Custom One Design BuildFebruary 23, 2012 at 6:44 PM

    Kari,

    after 37 years as a professional woodworker it takes a lot to impress me, You little level impresses me..... Great eye for detail and proportion. Ill be making one of my own. Thanks for sharing.

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  10. Custom One Design BuildFebruary 23, 2012 at 6:58 PM

    I tweeked a few things from your design, added a bottom , stainless steel and macassar ebony. Now that the CAD drawing is done I hope mine comes out as well as yours. For future reference, when you buff metal the results are far better on a machine buffer with jewelers rouge or tripoli compound. what compound to use depends on the metal.

    The new version.

    http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/customone/Picture11-5.png

    http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/customone/Picture12-2.png

    ReplyDelete