Wine Gobelet

Re: Wine Gobelet

Barry Irby

>You want to actually use it? How odd!

You can "finish" it with CA glue. Soak it and sand it until the grain is filled and give it several coats. Do a good job and it is diswasher safe. May want to buy the CA in larger quanties to cut the cost if you get into this.

A really thin goblets make a pretty good wine filter.

Re: Wine Gobelet

Andy in Raleigh

>A few days ago I would have whole heartedly recommended epoxy, but then I found out that people use alcohol to clean it up. I did some research after that and found that fully cured 100% epoxy solids are completely unaffected by alcohol. However, most epoxy contains other solids and resitance may vary. I think you will be fine if you use "good" epoxy. This is something of an oversimplification but generally true - the higher the resin to hardener ratio the better. The one to one syringes you get at the hardware store has a lot of non epoxy solids in it while something like West in the 7:1 has almost zero.

Also, UV light breaks down epoxy. The inside of a wine glass could get a lot of light

if the glasses are displayed while not in use.

-Andy

Calling Russ! (finish question)

John Crissman

>I would comment, but I have found it best to defer to Russ on finish questions like this...

Re: Calling Russ! (finish question)

Russ Fairfield

>You asked for my opinion... Here it is.

If you believe in "better living through chemistry", coat the goblets with something. Either epoxies or polyurethane resins would work. If you don't, leave the wood bare and watch it take a natural patina from the liquid. Rinse the goblet with a little Vodka after use, and drink the wash water.

Wood was used for drinking alcoholic beverages for several thousand years before we decided that we had to coat it with something. Why change things now??

The problem is that there is nothing we can put on a piece of wood that is a 100% flawless coating forever. Several things can happen to it. It may not have been as good as we thought it was to start with. Even if it was that good, that same exposure to light and air that makes a clear epoxy turn yellow with age will also make it brittle. That means hairline cracks. Alcohol will go through a crack that would hold back water. You now have alcohol under the coating. Guess what happens next. The wood expands. The cracks in the finish open up. More liquid gets in, and we have a finish that is coming off.

Even if that doesn't happen, there is always the issue of the things that are in the epoxy. There is always the problem of taste that can be imparted to the liquid. Many epoxy products leave an oil slick on the surface of an alcoholic or acidic beverage. Harmful?? I don't know. but it isn't very appetizing.

There is a risk with any coating. There is no risk with bare wood.

Re: Calling Russ! (finish question)

Tom Colligan, Peoria

>Thank you, Russ, for such a generous reply. Would your advice also apply to using a goblet or wooden bowl used for eating soft boiled eggs? That's what I plan to do with my first goblet.Would a varnish coating would be best for this use? Tia, Tom.

Re: Calling Russ! (finish question)

John Crissman

>Russ, you rock! Much better put than if I had written it.

Later,

John