George wrote:
"onoahimahi" wrote in message
oups.com...

Hi,

I just finished small cabinet made of nice curly maple for my wife and
she wants me to stain it. I picked up a bottle of Transtint dye stain
that I am mixing with denatured alcohol. I'm trying the stain with
scrap pieces of the curly maple to check the color. I found that when I
apply the stain to wood that has not been sanded, I get a beautiful
curly effect - it actually amplifies the curl for this case where I
have not sanded the wood. In this case, I can still "feel" the curl
on the wood's surface and the stain accents the low points. However,
when I apply the stain to a piece of wood that has been sanded to match
the cabinet (240 grit), the curl is not coming through very strongly.
It seems to be attenuated (possibly) over the unstained case.

Any suggestions on how to stain curly maple and have the strong curly
effect come through? Would it help to mix the Transtint with water
instead of the "non-grain-raising" alcohol?



Don't worry, though there isn't as much surface variation with the finer
grit, the addition of a clear finish will bring everything that's there out
at its best.

At least it does for me.



He mentioned stain though.

I consider that as sacrilegious as staining cherry.

Maybe he should use the same recipe that was recommended to me.

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Odeen wrote:

WillR wrote:

We should be discussing things like -- oh say -- the best
way to stain cherry



That's easy. You take the blood of the person wishing to stain the
cherry (five liters - litres, Jeff - is generally adequate), thin it
with 200 proof anhydrous denatured alcohol, mix it with a #1.5 cut of
your favorite shellac and apply with a pad lubed with mineral oil.

------------------------------------------------

Just substitute curly Maple for cherry and you have my opinion.. ROTFLMAO

Maybe the Deft Danish oil - Fruitwood - doesn't add much colour -- but
still...

Or the Tried and True Danish Oils... (See Lee Valley for Both)




--
Will
Occasional Techno-geek

http://woodwork.pmccl.com