Workshop Tip: Shellac conversion tables give ratios for small amounts
Tables give guidelines when you're mixing shellac in small portions
Like many woodworkers, I mix my own shellac from fresh flakes to ensure top performance. Because mixed shellac doesn’t keep well, I mix up only as much as I need for a project and discard the unused leftovers. The trouble is that most shellac mixing tables don’t provide ratios for small amounts.
Further, I often mix up a heavier “cut” and then dilute some of it into lighter mixes for certain coats. That raises a second question: How much denatured alcohol must I add to turn a heavy cut into a lighter one?
I came up with these simple tables as a quick guide. Copy them and hang them in the shop. Then all you need is a scale to weigh your supplies.
Click here to enlarge the charts.
—DAVID LEVENBERG, Elizabeth, N.J.
Illustrations by Dan Thornton
From Fine Woodworking issue #280
Comments
David:
I'm going to laminate this chart and put it in the shop. Thanks for the effort of putting this together. I always have to look it up and find that kitchen scale my wife thinks I lost.
David L. Whitehurst
Great Tables! It'll save me a lot of time!
Now all I need is thjis same combo for Varnish! LOL!
Paul Goss
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