# Finishing Basswood



## DrJosh (Jun 24, 2010)

I bought a beautiful extra-wide piece of basswood this afternoon. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to make with it, but I'll be building someone's Christmas present with it. I know many people use basswood for projects that involve carving, but I'll probably going to build a jewelry box out of it. My quest is this: Does basswood finish well with the simple finishes like danish oil or shellac? It seems to be a very light colored straight grained wood, so I'm wondering if it would ebonize well either with ebony stain or india ink. Thanks in advance for all the suggestions.


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## hayes (May 13, 2009)

danish oil worked quite well on a bandsaw box I made.


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## hObOmOnk (Feb 6, 2007)

Shellac on basswood!


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## Dcase (Jul 7, 2010)

I use basswood all the time for projects that are not carving… I like using Shellac on basswood. I have used some oil finishes also and it takes either one fine… I tried using stain once and it didn't take as well as I would have liked.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Shellac rocks. Just remember that basswood is pretty soft. It will dent easily.
Bill


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