Eigenvector wrote:
Something that I haven't quite got the gist of doing well yet.

How to stain a flat board **without** getting drips down the sides
or staining the sides of the board so that it turns out with the
same finish as the top and sides.

Problem I run into is that the sides of the board are typically
without grain, so you end up with a uniform color - unlike the top
where the grain takes varying degrees of color from the stain.

They aren't without grain, the grain is just different. If you want
more color variation on the edges try combing with a comb, then wipe
lightly with a rag. Might have to dip the comb in thinner first. Or
just wipe off some in a differential manner.
________________

Second question, correlation to the first, applying a polyeurothane
coat to the stain. If I want it done right it takes about 3 days
to do - flat part of board, dry 5 hours, then do sides, dry for 5
hours, flip, bottom, dry for
5. Sand, and repeat as needed. I seriously want to do the whole
board and set it on a wire rack to dry, but inevitably I get pools
of coating on the bottom of the board where the finish slowly
accumulates.

You are putting on too much finish. Some suggestions...

Never - NEVER- move your brush across the edge toward the center of
the board. That will scrape off a flood of finish.

When I do a board I start at the junction of one end and a side and
apply the finish so that my brush is gradually running off the side
edge. Doing that means that there will be a little more finish on the
top along the edge. I then go back and brush lengthwise holding the
brush so it is touching the entire side and overlapping the top a bit.
That pulls off the edge pool on the top and puts it on the edge. It
also spreads any drips that ran down from the top. After a minute or
two, I run my finger along the bottom edge to wipe off any drips there
may be. I do that more than once at intervals. Actually, I am sort
of bending my finger so that it is not only wiping the bottom but the
bottom edge is depressing the finger flesh a bit and that smooths out
any finish accumulation on the side at the bottom. If necessary (it
usually isn't) I also use a small brush to smooth the edges.

After that side and edges are dry, I flip the board. If there are any
drips on that side - a very rare occurance - I chisel/sand them off.
I also sand the edges smooth. I then repeat what I did for the other
side except that this time when I wipe the bottom edge to get any
drips I *also* wipe the edges.

The small brush I mentioned earlier is an artist's brush with very
fine hair (squirrel? sable?). They aren't cheap but are very useful.
I have a 1/2" and a 1", use the 1/2" the most.

There is no way to finish 2 sides and 2 edges of a board at the same
time without suspending it from brackets by nails into the ends.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico