Replies

1. 
   MikeHennessy | Jan 31, 2008 09:12pm | #1

   A lot of Mission furniture was white oak that was "stained" by fuming it with ammonia. Just google Mission furniture and you'll see what it looks like -- various stages of brown, from golden to pretty dark.

   These days, a lot of folks elect to forgo the safety/envirnmental issues associated with the really strong ammonia needed to do this, and purchase Mission (or Arts & Crafts) stain or dye. Again, a lot of variations of brown, depending on the brand.

   Mike Hennessy
   Pittsburgh, PA

1. 
   chalky | Jan 31, 2008 11:50pm | #3

   Thanks Mike, I see your from Western Pa. as well, where is a good source of wood, stuff that I can mill myself.  

1. 
   MikeHennessy | Jan 31, 2008 11:55pm | #4

   Depends on how far you wanna drive. (Western PA can be a pretty big area! You might wanna fill in your profile.) There's a nice sawmill in Houston, PA, Pawlawski's. You can find him on the web at http://www.sawpaw.com. He always has some nice red oak and maple. Had some nice local cherry last time I was there, but his supply of that was from his own property. Not sure if he replenished it or not.

   West Elizabeth Lumber has a lot of hardwoods, but mostly S2S.

   Other than that, I travel to Hazelton Woodworks in WV.

   Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA

1. 
   chalky | Feb 01, 2008 12:00am | #5

   Mike,

      I'm from Derry, we have a couple of local guys who sell but are pretty expensive.  there was an ad in Post gazette last week for a mill up 79.  He seemed pretty reasonable-said he'd plane off one side to let you see the grain.  How far is your source in West Va?

    

1. 
   MikeHennessy | Feb 01, 2008 12:04am | #6

   Derry! There used to be a nice little foundry there I frequented back when I was doing period reproduction work. Still there? (18th Century Hardware, or some such.)

   The WV source is in Hazelton, a couple of miles past Cooper's Rock on 68.

   Do you remember where the mill is on 79? North or South?

   Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA

2. 
   chalky | Feb 01, 2008 12:39am | #7

   Mike,

   The mill is north on 79 I believe near Moraine State Park.  The number is724 368 8298

3. 
   MikeHennessy | Feb 01, 2008 02:40pm | #8

   Thanks. That's not too far from me (about 1 hr.). I'll check them out.

   Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA

2. 
   SteveSchoene | Jan 31, 2008 10:08pm | #2

   To get a good approximation of the finish used on Mission furniture a good approach is the one given by Jeff Jewitt.  Here is a link.  http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/htdocs/mission_oak.htm

   It is a multi-step process, but though that might look more complicated, it gets you to a really good end result more reliably that trying to find the finish is one can.