Burn marks in Hard Maple

[cork58]

Sooooooo I am building a band-saw box and got some ugly burn marks. It came to mind that I use Shellac grade Alcohol to remove pencil marks and was wondering what effect it would have on burn marks. I can tell you that the sanding went much faster if I let the Alcohol soak on the wood for a few seconds then hit it with the spindle sander. Tried it later when doing hand sanding and got the same results. Can't say it really did anything to the burn marks except to speed up the sanding. Don't really know why, just did.

[leehljp]

Are you saying that the burn marks came from sanding and hand sanding also?

[Pappy]

I think he is saying the burn marks came from the cutting and soaking in alcohol made it easier to sand out the burn marks.

[cork58]

Sorry, the burn marks are from the Band-saw. An 1/8" 14 tpi Craftsman blade. I WILL be getting an Iturra blade very soon. Just wanted to get started before the Iturra blade got here. I have been thinking about the Alcohol. Is it possible that it raises the grain like water but dries so quickly that you don't see it in the end product? I did notice that the sandpaper plugged very quickly if I didn't let it soak in just a little. Just a thought.

[chopnhack]

I dont believe the grain is being raised (alcohol is the solvent for NGR dyes). It may act as a temporary lubricant to aid the sanding. You can also try a stearated sandpaper in this case.

[JimD]

A friend of mine makes mandolins. He raises the grain prior to finishing using rubbing alcohol. He says it works the same as water it just dries faster. I never tried it to cut the time sanding out burns but I might.

Jim

[chopnhack]

Rubbing alcohol can have as much as 30% water, which is what's probably raising the grain in that case. The OP mentioned shellac grade alcohol which is denatured, usually cut with methanol or other non water ingredients IIRC.

[Armini]

I think you are seeing two effects, first some element of the grain being raised, but second a temporary softening of the wood fibres caused by the alcohol. If you are ever using a hand plane to smooth end grain, this is highly recommended.