Replies

1. 
   UncleDunc | Jun 08, 2002 06:18am | #1

   What kind of wood is it? What color are you trying to stain it? Why? :) Do you have any scraps left over that you could test on?

2. 
   cuttoff | Jun 08, 2002 06:22am | #2

   Frank, if the piece is walnut, then is it dark walnut or light... I'm not sure what you are trying to achieve here?

   Expressions Fine Wood Working and Cabinetry..A division of Schefer Engineering Inc., Santa Rosa, Ca.

   
   

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   Edited 6/7/2002 11:34:45 PM ET by Cuttoff

1. 
   Biscardi | Jun 08, 2002 02:10pm | #3

   The legs are a dark quartersawn walnut. The stain is a dark, barely noticably reddish tinted , dark walnut. The drawer fronts and top are quilted walnut and the drop down lid is book matched, crotch walnut.My goal is to even out some of the colours and bring out the grain.I have had bad experiences in the past when trying to stain end grains as they absorb more stain and get darker than the rest of the piece. I would appreciate advice from anyone with experience doing this. I have >100 hours in this piece.

   Thanks

    Frank

   Edited 6/8/2002 7:15:23 AM ET by BISCARDI

1. 
   chairmake1 | Jun 08, 2002 07:05pm | #4

   If you are working with any kind of end grain and you do not want the part to be really dark or "muddied" from the stain - then you should use shellac to seal the end grain. The end grain in wood is like a straw and will soak up a lot more stain than the rest of the part.

   The shellaced end grain will present a more even color that you are trying to achive with the rest of the project.

   My 2 cents.

   Robert

2. 
   SgianDubh | Jun 09, 2002 03:46am | #6

   Frank, just before you dye take a wet rag, but not dripping wet, and work the water into the end grain of one leg. You can feather it as you move from end grain to long grain concentrating the water into the shortest grain. Follow up immediately by staining and wiping off as normal. Do each leg one at a time. The water slopped into the end grain has the effect of diluting the stain. All of this follows the normal raising of the grain with warm water and knocking back the fuzz lightly with about 180-  220 grit abrasive paper.

   Personally, I generally don't bother with this, being far too pernickety for me, and just dye the lot and accept the different colour take up, but there is still an answer if find the end grain a bit too dark for your taste. Take a damp rag , again not sopping, and wipe it around and over the end grain. It will remove some of the dye, and lighten the result.  Finally, take a rag dampened in clean water and wipe the whole leg to even it all out. As ever, experiment first on a spare if you've got one to get the feel for what you're doing. Slainte, RJ.RJFurniture

1. 
   Biscardi | Jun 09, 2002 06:30am | #7

   Richard,

   Thanks for the tip. I will give it a try. I also used your formula for the walnut stain (walnut, red and yellow). It looked a little red when I first wiped it on, but after it dried, was scuff sanded and lacqured, the bit I did on some scrap looked pretty nice-just barely tinted red.

   Thanks again for your help.

   Frank

1. 
   SgianDubh | Jun 09, 2002 08:22am | #8

   Frank, that's a pretty good dye for walnut that I gave the recipe for and that you're basing your dye on, but some find it a bit too red, and a bit too strong at first. Walnut being what it is will mature very nicely under that dye to a sort of mellow honied tone especially if you oil alkyd varnish the end result. It really takes about three to five years for the natural walnut maturation to begin to really dominate, but it's worth the wait. Your dye powders may be somewhat different to mine in tone, concentration, shade, etc., but as long as you find something that works for you, that's all that matters. Slainte, RJ.RJFurniture

3. 
   forestgirl | Jun 09, 2002 02:29am | #5

   Here's a tip that might help, but you should check with Sgian if he's around, Cutoff, and others with infinitely more experience than I have:  After you've sealed the end-grain, you might be able to test the relative uptake by wiping the legs down with naptha or mineral spirits.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

   
   

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   Edited 6/8/2002 7:40:52 PM ET by forest_girl

4. 
   Paul_Snyder | Jun 09, 2002 05:08pm | #9

   Frank, if you have spray equipment, apply the dye with your spray gun adjusted way down to airbrush like settings. Keep the fan at 2-3" width and the fluid flow at a minimum. Spray the dye with the grain making sure you apply just enough to wet the surface, but not enough to cause runs. Properly applied, the dye should dry to the touch in 15 minutes or so. The final coloring will be very even across all the surfaces, including end grain. The shellac should do a nice job of bringing out the color and depth of the dyed wood.

   If you haven't sprayed much, reduce your dye 50% and spray two light coats to avoid stripes and lap marks. Do some samples first to get a feel for the technique.

   An alternative/supplement worth trying is to use alcohol based dyes and add them to your shellac. Applying a colored shellac (toner) results in very even coloring and increased depth and intensity. If you're using the dyes from Homestead, they can be mixed with water or alcohol.

   Paul

   F'burg, VA