I want to darken my mahogany drawer front and edges, but leave the maple drawer sides unstained, which are 1/2 blind dovetailed to the front. Any suggestions on how to do this without the stain bleeding onto the maple? I have already glued it together.
Alternatively, is there any type of stain/tint/oil that would darken the mahogany but leave the maple relatively light if applied to the whole drawer? Mahogany being more porous than the maple would this be possible? Thanks
Replies
some time ago, during a discussion on leaving the marking lines on a drawer/set of dovetails, Richard Jones commented that leaving the marking line provided a clean line to apply finish to the sides of a drawer.
just an alternative view.
Dave
Shellac the drawer sides and then stain the mahogany how you please.
Lots of different recipes for coloring mahogany from bichromate of potash(Potassium Dichromate) to water stains or boiled linseed oil and shellac.
Linseed oil will darken the mahogany, and get darker over time. However do not oil the inside of the case or the drawers. Unless you want to smell rancid oil for the next thirty years.
What kind of color are you wanting for the mahogany?
J.P.
I was wanting to make it a deep redish brown. Its for a high prep table for my kitchen, so it needs to have a somewhat tough surface. I am not too schooled on finishing, and was wondering, if I use linseed oil, what should I apply over it? Can I use a polyurathane or something? Also, will it still darken up over time one it has been crearcoated? Thanks for the help. jim
Jim,The linseed oil will continue to darken even when clear coated. Eventually it will turn to the reddish brown color, however it depends on the type of mahogany you are using.The South American will tend to be on the pink or red side. Khaya (African mahogany) will be a more of a straw/brown. The Khaya will turn more brown over time as opposed to the red/brown of the S. American.I use Lockwoods water based dyes. They are simple to use and inexpensive. I like to use medium amber maple, which is yellow to help tone down the pink of S. American mahogany. Then I put the antique cherry over top to get the red/brown.Garnet shellac helps to deepen the color and then you can top coat with varnish for durability.The photo of the table is finished with the maple and cherry dye combo with garnet shellac.The bombe has dichromate and seedlac shellac.Both pieces were made from S. American mahogany.J.P.
The chemical dye approach--potassium dichromate as was mentioned or the less poisonous lime water approach will darken the mahogany and not have much effect on the maple. But, even a bit of BLO on the pins, which are end grain, will darken them dramatically and give a good contrast to the maple. It need not matter that they exactly match the finish on the drawer front.
The chemical dyes may or may not give you the color you are looking for. I generally recommend starting with a water mixed analine dye for mahogany (this would color the maple about the same as the mahogany--not what you want.) If you check out Lockwood dyes (which can also be purchased at Woodworker's Supply under their Moser house label) you will find a very wide range of dyes for various mahogany looks.
For a top coat, a good traditional resin varnish will work very well. Behlen Rockhard works well on mahogany.
If you only have one drawer to do I would seal the maple tails using an small artist's and something clear, shellac would work, then do whatever you want with the front.
pins
I just did this with analine dye. I used a very small brush and carefully cut in the stain on the primary wood. If you use only a little on the brush, it doesnt bleed. Where it did bleed, I was able to shave out the secondary wood with a small chisel to clean up the surfaces. In a couple of places (Where I was tired and should have left it to the next day), I had to do a couple of iterations. I then sealed the whole surface with shellac.
I found this better than sealing then staining because it was easier and quicker to repair any errors.
There is a good article somewhere in the archives on finishing drawers where they describe this process
Anna
The technique will work either way, but I frequently make stuff with drawers that just slide in and out, no mechanical slides, and I seal the outside of the sides with shellac because it is odor free and prepares the side better if I need to wax it.pins
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