Really ugly end grain structure
EricAnderson
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
I have a grain problem that I would like the Knots newsgroup’s opinion on. I have an arts & crafts dresser that is in quartersawn oak. The problem is that the edge of the top has a really UGLY grain figure. Yea, I should have done something in my choice, but I did not realize how bad it would turn out. My chest of drawers …
did not show this up in the same way. This is the dresser. It has just been stained, but I am willing to do some drastic things if necessary.
I would like to get your opinion on it. I have pointed to pictures below that show the problem. As I said, the wood is quarter sawn and I was able to get the quarter sawn edge on almost every area, but the top edge shows plain sawn. Worse yet, when it got stained, it gives the appearance of the stain running.
My question is:
Is there a finishing solution (possibly to de-accent the grain)
Should I bite the bullet and take the top off and attach a quarter sawn edge?
Eric Anderson
Replies
Eric, the dresser is really nice. I understand your aggravation about the edge though. Just to clarify (you probably already know): That's not "end grain".
The experts will speak up soon, but I'm going to take a wild guess here: you might be able to remove the finish layer and use some grain filler to subdue the effects of the stain. As I said, a wild guess, but if I were on an island with nobody to ask, that's what I'd try first.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
On my computer, it looks like the front edge of the top is flush with the face of the cabinet and the drawer fronts. If you are able to remove the finish from this front edge, an edge band would be the easy fix, although you probably don't want to see the edge of that on the top edge. If it's possible to remove the top relatively easily, you could bevel the edge so the new complementary edge can be applied and the joint will only be right on the top corner of the edge.If you have ever seen Arts and Crafts furniture legs, a lot of them are qtr sawn on all sides. Usually, they would cut a glue joint on all corners and clamp them together so they could get the look they wanted. Those were more structural than this edge, so you could just bevel the top and glue a strip on so you get the grain you are looking for. Nice piece, why not repost it with the new look? No rush, take your time.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I had the same solution as you.
See his other post. :^}
I would leave it the way it is. It may not look exactly like 004.jpg but it is really nice work. To me some of the mismatched grain in the drawer fronts is more noticeable than the top edge. But even so, if it were my piece I would not change anything.
You know, I spent some time trying to match the grain during the assembly of the front of the drawers. When I finished it, I could not believe what I saw on the mismatch you are talking about on the drawer face. That was the one that I saw that bothered me the most, but this is my wife's dresser and she pointed out the grain structure on the top which, I had to admit, bothered me also. I don't know if it looks like it to you-all, but the worst part of the grain structure is not that it is not quarter sawn, it is that it "simulates" the look of a run in the stain.
At Forestgirl's suggestion, I used some paste wood filler on a sample. Looks like it will do the trick! Check out the sample
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/eganders/pastewoodfillertest002.jpg
Eric, I'm so glad it worked, but I can't seem to access that link. Get a "page not found" and redirect.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Let's try again. This is the sample piece with paste wood filler on the right and the bare wood as on the dresser on the left.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/eganders/fillertest002.jpg
Wow, certainly did subdue it, didn't it? Glad it worked!
The starkness of oak grain when stained (most especially red oak) is something that I've had to work around a couple of times, as with many stains it seems to take on a granular look that I don't care for. I've found a happy medium between filling and un-filled by using wetsanding.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Edited 2/11/2005 3:49 pm ET by forestgirl
As I already said, it's a really nice piece of furniture. Only another woodworker would notice the "defects". (Don't you just hate those kind of people?) Everyone else will see a stunning dresser that they wish they owned. And it looks like the paste filler is going to solve the edge grain problem very neatly.
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