"Twiget" wrote in message
m...
Hard Maple should only be sanded to 120. any more and the stain will be
too light.

Sanding to 120 grit leaves larger scratches in the surface of the wood. It
will look darker when you apply a pigment stain. Pigments are larger
molecules that will lodge in scratches. By sanding to 120 you will
accentuate any scratches in the wood (even those left by 120 grit paper).

If you use a dye (much smaller molecues) which penetrate into the pores of
the wood much easier, the grit that you sand to is much less of an issue. I
would NOT recommend using a pigment based stain for a dense wood like maple.

I sand maple to 220 and apply a 'dye'. I can take maple sanded to 220 as
dark as I want (even black).

Also put the stain on with 0000 steal wool. Let stand on the wood for a
few minutes and wipe off with a rag. The softer you wipe the darker the
stain. This seems to work well for me.

That seems very odd. Applying stain will steel wool?

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com