In the dovetail jig advertisements, as well as in occasional articles, dovetails are depicted in radically different colors from the tails- Are they simply stained prior to joining? Seems the grain would raise, requiring sanding in order to flush the sides, resulting in a dimming of the stain, resulting in restaining, resulting in…, etc, etc- And once the end result is achieved, would not a clear finish cause at least a LITTLE of the stain to bleed into/onto the unstained/bare wood? I don’t believe it’s merely a matter of different colored woods- One such article referred to the wood as maple, and it sure looked like stained, finished maple, not the stuff I see at the lumber yard-
Obviously, they get it done, but what do they do? Thanks-
Edited 11/29/2006 2:31 pm ET by Yogi
Replies
In most cases two different colored woods are used. Frequently Cherry or Walnut is one wood and the other is maple or birch. Then an oil based clear coat will further darken the darker wood providing the contrast.
Howie-
>>> "In most cases two different colored woods are used"<<<
Kay- What about the other cases?
Thanks-
Don't know, but PhotoShop would also be a possibility.
Besides a dye on end grain would be deep enough so that lightly sanding any "grain" raised wouldn't make the dye appear washed out.
Edited 11/29/2006 4:35 pm ET by SteveSchoene
I spose- I'd like to know how they do that so I could do it with the "lesser" types of wood-
>> What about the other cases?As others have said, the front can be stained before assembly and gluing. You can still glue a joint that has waterbased or alcohol based dyes without sacrificing strength. With oil based pigment stains, the stain needs to be kept off of the glue surfaces in the dovetail.Also, don't always believe what you are seeing in advertisements. My wife use to work for a wine company and attended many product photo shoots. They had special bottles specifically for the adds. They were picked for their clarity and then polished just before being photo'ed. They were called "beauty bottles". The labels were frequently specially printed with more intense coloring so the photographed better.The point is that the dovetails used in the add were the absolute best that they could make (after many tries) and they used whatever was necessary to show them off to their advantage.Howie.........
Howie-
>>> "The point is that the dovetails used in the add were the absolute best that they could make (after many tries) and they used whatever was necessary to show them off to their advantage." <<<
Yes, but........, isn't that what everybody does?
I believe if you look at a dovetail joint from the side, you will see face grain and end grain. The end grain will absorb finish or stain differently than the face, so the same wood will appear different.
Well, you're probably right- But do you know what I'm referring to? For example, the ads for Leigh jigs show drawer fronts that are dark and shiny and rich looking- Finished looking- No?
Yes, I would bet they finish them. At least with an oil finish. I've never seen a car ad with the cars unpainted.
Hal
Edited 11/29/2006 11:54 pm ET by Hal J
I stain and finish the drawer front and then assemble the drawer. I've attached a pic.Ron
A perfect example on nice dovetails.
Thanks for sharing.
Hal
Beautiful- That's precisely the apperance I was asking about when I opened this thread- Do you carefully avoid getting stain & glue on glue surfaces or does it seem to matter? Do the finished surfaces fit as well as they did prior to finishing? Thank you-
It's really not too hard to stain the end of the drawer around the sockets without getting stain into them, you may get a small amount in them but it's not a problem, I also try to stay away from the area on the backside of the drawer front where the drawer side meets the back. I actually mask this area before I apply top coat. When I spray top coat I spray at a downward angle to keep the sealer and topcoat out of the socket as much as possible. I've never had a problem with the glue holding in this situation.Ron
Ron- Thanks for your explanation- I just knew it wasn't simply a matter of differing woods- I'll give it a try myself- Thanks again-
You're over thinking it. I'll wager that in ALL cases it is two different kinds of wood. The primary wood is darker, and the secondary wood (maple) is the lighter.
Like I wrote Creekwood, that's probably correct- But are we talking about the same photos? The drawer fronts sure look dark and shiny- They look finished, even if they aren't-
Wow, this isn't this hard!
In the dovetail jig ads it is almost always two contrasting woods. It's obvious.
But in the real world, the two different looks of the wood is simply a symptom of having end grain on the pins and flat grain on the tails. No stain involved. End grain does not look like flat grain, straight grain, or any other grain. Photoshop!?!?!? That's silly!!
Often modern woodworkers will use contrasting wood to make spectacular looking dovetails, and almost always the drawer sides will be a different wood than the face species. It's just the way that drawers are usually made.
The oldest American antique furniture (and most well made furniture since) usually has either Walnut, Cherry, Mahogany, or Rosewood for the cabinet, and Poplar for the secondary wood which includes whatever does not show when the drawers are in and the doors are closed.
Hal
http://www.rivercitywoodworks.com
Wow, Hal! Thanks- Silly old us! Good thing you came along! You're right, this isn't this hard! All we needed was you! Thanks again!
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