First rule of staining cherry is "don't". Half the magic is just walking by 5 years after a project and really appreciating what a piece has become. P.s. you do great work. Keep it up.
Honestly I get that more than ever now, I'm definitely going to use stain on ash or maple to get some other color choices but cherry is going to be added to my "don't stain" list. Just took me doing a project with some stain to realize that natural is better!
Since I'm making most of these projects for videos, sometimes it's better to take things a little slower or choose a method that's a little more appealing to watch. Other times I just enjoy slowing down and enjoying the process.
Nice piece, like the contrast between the cherry and cedar. Notice from earlier responses you’ve addd cherry to your no stain list. For me, maple is on that list as well.
Not to promote my own content to much but your should checkout this project - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cHMXW2VZZg8.html I stained maple for the main structure and it worked way better than I expected!
Hey, as long as you're not dripping glue on the saw it's just about the best surface in the shop! Definitely makes the glue up easier when you know the surface is perfectly flat underneath.
I'll have to take the drawers back out to the shop and do that! As for dye, you could say I've fallen deep into the rabbit hole... After finishing this project I spent a couple days doing research about all the different types of stains and picked up some GF water based dye. So far through some testing, I've been able to get some awesome results with dye that'll I'll be using on a few upcoming projects!
Nice build. Can you still smell the cedar through the finish? I recommend “Understanding Wood Finishing” by Flexner. I think it is the best book available on the topic
I think in a couple more weeks the cedar smell will come back, right now the linseed oil still has a very strong smell! Thanks for the book recommendation, I've added it to my amazon cart and I'm looking forward to giving it a read!
I agree. Cherry is notoriously difficult to stain. I’ve finally given up trying. Just put a polyurethane coating. Your work is fantastic! Keep the great videos coming!
Thanks, I've seen a few different ways to deal with the blotch but I think for the most part cherry just isn't worth the effort for staining. I just have to learn to be patient and wait for it to change!
Thanks for sharing. I work with a lot cherry. What I do to get it looking good is to use garnet shellac. Adds a nice color and is easily reversible. I have also used Tried and True oil and then let the cherry sun tan on sunny days to help speed it up when I'm home and can do so. A few days of this really helps.
I'll have to give Shellac a try, I keep thinking about it but forget when it comes time to finish a project! I've tried leaving the pieces in the sun before and I do like that it can speed up the coloring, I just find that I like cherry as more of an accent wood rather than a structural wood. I think going forward I'm going to try to use natural cherry in floating panels or other accents then use some other dark stained wood for the structure, I think that'll give the best results!
Copying the arch from the bottom to the rail under the drawer was a brilliant design choice. It would have looked nice with a straight rail, but it looks hella classy with that double arch.
Thank you very much, I'm definitely going to be focusing more on adding those small details to future projects and hopefully adding more interesting techniques soon!
@@morganhurst_redridge Your ability to think outside the box and transpose those thoughts/ideas into your work seems to come easily for you. Your concepts and desires are very prevalent in your work. Your abilities will transpire your dreams of woodworking above any level you wish to maneuver challenge!
You've put so much hard work and precision in this project, respect! As for the stain, it looks good but walnut :) (if the hue is correct on my screen). Don't get me wrong, I really like the walnut, but for cherry I prefer cherry's natural color and if I need it aged, I'll try to stain it just slightly to become more reddish/orange. One more point: probably, the camera/screen cripples the live outlook, but based on it, if I must design the drawer fronts, I'll rather copy the other panel's design.
Thanks! I went with a walnut stain purley because it looked like a nice medium brown with some red undertones, and honestly it it was the only stain color in the store that look any good! I think after doing this project though, I'm definitely more of a fan of keeping cherry natural. This project really made me realize that I like cherry as an accent wood for the floating panel, drawers, etc. and I need to find another option for creating a nice darker wood for the structure.
Bro I have never in my life seen a panel pop like that. Just seconds before I was thinking oh you must have discovered a gap the next day and boom it splits open
It appears that your stain was very even. However, on some woods, the stain is blotchy. In order to prevent that, a pre-stain treatment helps. Your local paint store probably carries a commercial product. You can also make your own pre-stain treatment. Using the recipe from the Wood Whisperer also works. His recipe is 3 Tbsp glue, 3 Tbsp of a water based finish and enough water to make one quart. Apply and let dry. Do not wipe off. Then lightly sand and then stain. I have used this recipe and the blotchy appearance was eliminated. Good luck.
Thanks, I didn't have alot of issues with with blotch with this water based pigment stain but now that I'm trying to work with dyes I'm getting crazy blotch! I'll have to give that recipe a try on my next few test pieces and see if that can help!
Time to try out a belt sander for your sanding. It is a very useful tool, you can get a Canadian Tire one on sale that has a variable speed. You want to maintain a cool belt, and run it in the direction of the grain. If you want fast material removal use a coarse belt and go cross grain, slow material removal move in direction of belt with a fine grit. The only time you have this poor sanding is when you use the cross grain or random orbit so I hope you can get a belt sander and give it a go.
I have a Rigid belt sander that's been collecting dust for years, I find it kind of unwieldy to use and since I got into using hand planes I really haven't thought twice about it. I'll have to give it another go though because I get what you're saying, it could be a great tool for surface prep!
I totally agree with you! I like how this project came out but I definitely won't be using this type of stain again on cherry because you lose out on all that beautiful wood. Going forward my plan is to mostly not stain cherry or use a dye stain that'll enhance the grain rather than cover it up!
I almost did not watch this video because I despise cedar! It is my problem - I used to work at a building centre and the smell reminds me of that hell.
@@morganhurst_redridge lol. I am sure you have weird associations too! lol. but the light and the dark looked amazing in your panels, of course. but ya, cedar is so darn splintery
I've tried that a few times and I think for the most part, even the aged cherry color just isn't as dark as I'm looking for. I'm planning to do more with natural cherry though, so I'll definitely be doing this over the next few months.