I have made some one inch hard maple cubes and would like to finish one face
natural,
and finish the remaining surfaces with a dark stain.

Have about a hundred, and am looking for suggestions on how to keep the dark
stain
off the face I want to do natural.

Thanks in advance,
Ace


Unrelated, but maybe a tip? Working in garage with exterior entry door I
frequently open
for ventilation. It would blow shut a lot of times and 'scare' me.

Mounted a 1x2 by about 16 inches long about head height to the door using
small hinge.
Had drilled three holes at various spacing veritcally through which I place
a wooden
dowel into part of a simple door bolt mounted to door jam.

No more doors slamming shut, and when not in use, simply hinge out of way
and pass
the dowel through an eye hook screwed into door face.

Ace wrote:
I have made some one inch hard maple cubes and would like to finish one face
natural,
and finish the remaining surfaces with a dark stain.

Have about a hundred, and am looking for suggestions on how to keep the dark
stain
off the face I want to do natural.


Could you stain the entire block and then sand one face to remove the
stain on that face?

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

(Remove -SPAM- to send email)

On Thu, 19 May 2005 22:11:10 GMT, the inscrutable "Ace"
spake:

I have made some one inch hard maple cubes and would like to finish one face
natural,
and finish the remaining surfaces with a dark stain.

Have about a hundred, and am looking for suggestions on how to keep the dark
stain
off the face I want to do natural.

I'd shellac 'em or wax 'em. Perhaps you could soak a paper towel and
carefully blot one face.



--snip--
No more doors slamming shut, and when not in use, simply hinge out of way
and pass
the dowel through an eye hook screwed into door face.

Good tip. I put up a hook and a screw, stretching a rubber band
between the two to keep the door in place. Inside the house, I
have metal springloaded doorstops/catches on a couple doors to
prevent them from slamming.


================================================== =========
Save the Endangered Bouillons from being cubed!
http://www.diversify.com/stees.html Hilarious T-shirts online
================================================== =========

am looking for suggestions on how to keep the dark
stain
off the face I want to do natural.

Perhaps a bit of shellac on the light face, or even a little glue. Sand
it down when the dark stuff dries, and have at it.

Unrelated, but maybe
a tip? Working in garage with exterior entry door I
frequently open
for ventilation. It would blow shut a lot of times and 'scare' me.

What you need is a "doorstop". The kickdown one that I use has kept the
door from slamming on the cat. Tom

I'd try clear finish on the natural face first, maybe 2 coats. Sort of
blotted on. Shellac?

Then stain the other 5 sides. Any overrun on the stain can be wiped off
before it penetrates the finish.

Then clear finish on all six sides? (What are you gonna set it on while it
dries?)

It's still going to be difficult to get a sharp corner where the finishes
change. You may have to sand the small overrun of clear finish off the
faces to be stained.






"Ace" wrote in message
...
I have made some one inch hard maple cubes and would like to finish one
face natural,
and finish the remaining surfaces with a dark stain.

Have about a hundred, and am looking for suggestions on how to keep the
dark stain
off the face I want to do natural.

Thanks in advance,
Ace


Unrelated, but maybe a tip? Working in garage with exterior entry door I
frequently open
for ventilation. It would blow shut a lot of times and 'scare' me.

Mounted a 1x2 by about 16 inches long about head height to the door using
small hinge.
Had drilled three holes at various spacing veritcally through which I
place a wooden
dowel into part of a simple door bolt mounted to door jam.

No more doors slamming shut, and when not in use, simply hinge out of way
and pass
the dowel through an eye hook screwed into door face.

Larry Jaques wrote in
:

On Thu, 19 May 2005 22:11:10 GMT, the inscrutable "Ace"
spake:

I have made some one inch hard maple cubes and would like to finish
one face natural,
and finish the remaining surfaces with a dark stain.

Have about a hundred, and am looking for suggestions on how to keep
the dark stain
off the face I want to do natural.

I'd shellac 'em or wax 'em. Perhaps you could soak a paper towel and
carefully blot one face.


Which of the two you'd choose would depend on the type of 'stain' you
choose. And since with maple, the best choice for a 'stain' is more likely
a 'dye', there would be some issues with using shellac, if the dye were an
alcohol solvent dye. Shellac uses alcohol as its solvent. Inadvertent
experimentation on my part yielded less than happy results. A waxy
product, perhaps like the Anchorseal turners use, might be a good choice.

I have no experience with water-based dyes and hard maple. Others may.

Patriarch

"Ace" wrote in message
...
I have made some one inch hard maple cubes and would like to finish one
face natural,
and finish the remaining surfaces with a dark stain.

Have about a hundred, and am looking for suggestions on how to keep the
dark stain
off the face I want to do natural.

Thanks in advance,
Ace

how about finishing (using whatever you're going to use) one face, then
dipping that face in a tub of melted paraffin? melt in a double boiler. get
it in the canning section of the stupidmarket. sand it down slightly on the
4 vertical faces so you can get all the way to the corner. then just peel
off the wax when the staining is done.

regards,
charlie
cave creek, az
http://glassartists.org/chaniarts

Yes, I am reading the answers to my post and appreciate all responses.

I really like the concept of masking off one face with paraffin, but
wonder how to
apply it with out wrapping around corners? Also, would sanding be
sufficient to
remove traces of the paraffin before finishing that face natural?

I just experimented with a water based stain this morning (Minwax) and was
displeased.
Many years ago, I used a water based stain on oak and was very satisfied,
but it was a powder
which I mixed myself and sprayed.

My next approach will be an oil based stain. Any suggestions as to brand
and where to buy?

Alcohol based stains are new to me. Who sells them and what are their
advantages?

Thanks again,
Ace


"Patriarch" wrote in message
. 97.136...
Larry Jaques wrote in
:

On Thu, 19 May 2005 22:11:10 GMT, the inscrutable "Ace"
spake:

I have made some one inch hard maple cubes and would like to finish
one face natural,
and finish the remaining surfaces with a dark stain.

Have about a hundred, and am looking for suggestions on how to keep
the dark stain
off the face I want to do natural.

I'd shellac 'em or wax 'em. Perhaps you could soak a paper towel and
carefully blot one face.


Which of the two you'd choose would depend on the type of 'stain' you
choose. And since with maple, the best choice for a 'stain' is more
likely
a 'dye', there would be some issues with using shellac, if the dye were an
alcohol solvent dye. Shellac uses alcohol as its solvent. Inadvertent
experimentation on my part yielded less than happy results. A waxy
product, perhaps like the Anchorseal turners use, might be a good choice.

I have no experience with water-based dyes and hard maple. Others may.

Patriarch

"Ace" wrote in
:

I really like the concept of masking off one face with paraffin, but
wonder how to
apply it with out wrapping around corners? Also, would sanding be
sufficient to
remove traces of the paraffin before finishing that face natural?

I just experimented with a water based stain this morning (Minwax) and
was displeased.

This surprises me not at all.

Many years ago, I used a water based stain on oak and was very
satisfied, but it was a powder which I mixed myself and sprayed.

This is likely a dye, which works somewhat differently. That's a good
thing.

Alcohol based stains are new to me. Who sells them and what are their
advantages?

These are also dyes, just using a different carrier solvent. Water- and
alcohol-solvent dyes are packaged by, among others, TransFast
(powdered). Dyes in solution are sold under sister label TransTint.
Really good info available at www.homesteadfinishing.com.

Woodworking specialty retailers generally have these. Who that would be
for you varies regionally somewhat. We are lucky to have both Rockler
and Woodcraft, along with a number of excellent independents, in my
area.

I forecast less than 100% satisfaction with your experiment with oil
stains and hard maple, although you should proceed anyhow.

Patriarch