Bullet Love

[spartyon8]

I got a lathe about a month ago and can’t seem to stop playing. I took some red oak that I cut down and turned it into a cylinder. The cylinder turned into a bullet which has now turned into a gift for my dad (former cop and gun collector). It is a scaled 45acp that was going to be a round nose but then thought of turning it into a hollow point so I can play with my new jacobs chuck.

With the intro out of the way, I used some of the “OG Shine Juice” but feel like it needs some color variation. Is there a way to add color on top of this shellac style finish without having to sand it back down to bare wood? Had I actually planned this project instead of practice becoming this project, I would have stained different parts. It feels bland to me. The cracks are sealed up with black ca glue.

 

[Mark Johnson]

You can probably use a gel stain without too much trouble over the shellac. If the shellac is not too thick, you can achieve a level of stain or dye through the shellac. I'm not familiar with your particular finish. I'm sure others will have good advice.

 

[Roy G]

Peter, shellac is lac flakes dissolved in alcohol, so you should be able to get an alcohol soluble dye to color the project. Brass for the cartridge case, but for the life of me I can't remember is the slug is all lead or jacketed.

Roy G

 

[spartyon8]

I tested a reddish stain that I had and it tinted it just enough to make it look jacketed (copper). I may try to make another one. The only problem is drying out the logs!!