Building a stand, Wood/stain question if anybody knows.

[Townes_Van_Camp]

A week ago I bought 400$ worth of 3/4” Baltic birch ply because I like the ply banding showing on the edges. It gives a nice clean mid century look. I never stopped to think about how it would take stain. Apparently it does poorly

does anybody have any recommendations about the best way to avoid botching and get a dark stain on birch? Lots of YouTube and wood working forums are giving mixed info about the best way to tackle this.

 

[CuzzA]

Sponge the wood with water to raise the grain. Sand it down. Blow it off with compressed air and tac rag the dust off.

Check out Sansin. https://www.sansin.com/ By far the best stain product I have ever used. You may pre treat the wood with a pre stain treatment first. However, every piece of wood is different and I would test on some pieces first. You may find the particular wood you have will take the stain evenly. Call the company you by the product from for advise. They will know their product better than anyone else.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

Sponge the wood with water to raise the grain. Sand it down. Blow it off with compressed air and tac rag the dust off.

Check out Sansin. https://www.sansin.com/ By far the best stain product I have ever used. You may pre treat the wood with a pre stain treatment first. However, every piece of wood is different and I would test on some pieces first. You may find the particular wood you have will take the stain evenly. Call the company you by the product from for advise. They will know their product better than anyone else.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

that is my hang up. Stuck between raising the grain with water and using a conditioner. I’ve used both methods. I’m wondering if I can’t use both. Water, Sand, tac cloth, conditioner, gel stain.

I appreciate the product and method suggestion! I’ve never used their products.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I tested on a test piece 1st. Yes a fine sand paper sanding. Wipe it down. Stain. Wipe stain. Repeat. Lol.

You can clear coat as.well or seal it. It will still add a hint or tint of yellow to the wood imo. Hths ya man!
D

 

[mehaffydr]

Birch is typically a hard wood to stain. I would recommend a sanding sealer and then light sanding. This is what I use anytime I stain woods like Maple or birch. try it on scrap first. Typically the stain will come out a little lighter in color if you use sealer first but more even.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

The longer you let the stain sit before wiping the darker it will be. I tried multiple stains and multiple times of resting for the stain. Finally i found 1 i liked and was able to apply it fast cuz i liked the way it looked when i wiped it imeditally.
Wood sucks. Splinters. Metal is so much easier. Lol
D

 

[kenchilada]

That will be tough, it’s never come out well for me. I’d try gel stain on some scrap along with the other suggestions above. I’d probably end up painting it though.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

The longer you let the stain sit before wiping the darker it will be. I tried multiple stains and multiple times of resting for the stain. Finally i found 1 i liked and was able to apply it fast cuz i liked the way it looked when i wiped it imeditally.
Wood sucks. Splinters. Metal is so much easier. Lol
D

It’s going in the living room of a mid century with terrazzo floors and walnut furniture. Otherwise I’d have just bought IM’s purpose built aluminum stand.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I got tiger stripe birch i think too. Spendy plywood from mclendons. Lol. It was yrs ago. Itll.look good when its done bro
D

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

I got tiger stripe birch i think too. Spendy plywood from mclendons. Lol. It was yrs ago. Itll.look good when its done bro
D

I’ve got a build thread started and will not be shy about putting the stand build on there. Honestly I am more excited about the stand build than I am the tank set up.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Add it to your signature man
D

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

Add it to your signature man
D

Didn’t think about doing that. Thanks for the rec

 

[Surf985]

I did plywood sides on mine and stained it walnut, though the facing is actually furniture grade pine and some whitewood dental molding for detail.

Wood conditioner is definitely a must, both to help it take an even stain across the face of the plywood and ESPECALLY the edges. the edges may come out a bit different anyhow depending on how the piece is faced (usually the best pieces are the outside and the inside panels are a different wood.) Sand it well, and then condition following the instructions.

Note conditioner will result in less absorption so the color won't likely be as dark as if it was applied dry. This keeps it from "grabbing" and giving you splotches, though it isn't foolproof.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

I did plywood sides on mine and stained it walnut, though the facing is actually furniture grade pine and some whitewood dental molding for detail.

Wood conditioner is definitely a must, both to help it take an even stain across the face of the plywood and ESPECALLY the edges. the edges may come out a bit different anyhow depending on how the piece is faced (usually the best pieces are the outside and the inside panels are a different wood.) Sand it well, and then condition following the instructions.

Note conditioner will result in less absorption so the color won't likely be as dark as if it was applied dry. This keeps it from "grabbing" and giving you splotches, though it isn't foolproof.

That's why I went with baltic birch, The edges are nice and clean. They can be treated almost like solid hardwood. I love working with it, but I have never done anything more than shellac it after sanding to 180. I didn't even consider birch being hard to stain.

 

[neonreef3d]

I used baltic birch as a countertop on my metal frame. Sealed the entire top and bottom with a clear coat, then used black truck bed liner to waterproof the top.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

I used baltic birch as a countertop on my metal frame. Sealed the entire top and bottom with a clear coat, then used black truck bed liner to waterproof the top.

Funny I planned on the rhino liner. I have some spray on in my shop right now. But I really want the grain to show through everywhere else, including the insides and edge banding. After a ton of research I remembered that my uncle is a cabinet maker, more of an artist who happens to make beautiful cabinets. He did the dressing tables in the grand ole opry about 15 years ago. I asked him this morning and he said to use a product called “Charles Neil pre-color conditioner”. It’s a water based conditioner with high solid adhesives in it. Stuff wasn’t cheap, but if you have 400+ in wood, why screw it up trying to save 20 bucks. Regardless, I’m excited to get cracking on this stand and am really glad to see that somebody else has taken some of the same paths that I am, both the BB and the rhino liner. Is the liner holding up well on wood that gets exposed to salt water?

 

[neonreef3d]

Funny I planned on the rhino liner. I have some spray on in my shop right now. But I really want the grain to show through everywhere else, including the insides and edge banding. After a ton of research I remembered that my uncle is a cabinet maker, more of an artist who happens to make beautiful cabinets. He did the dressing tables in the grand ole opry about 15 years ago. I asked him this morning and he said to use a product called “Charles Neil pre-color conditioner”. It’s a water based conditioner with high solid adhesives in it. Stuff wasn’t cheap, but if you have 400+ in wood, why screw it up trying to save 20 bucks. Regardless, I’m excited to get cracking on this stand and am really glad to see that somebody else has taken some of the same paths that I am, both the BB and the rhino liner. Is the liner holding up well on wood that gets exposed to salt water?

The bed liner is the best Idea for sealing wood. it looks awesome, clean, and is easy to deal with as far as cleaning. I will never stain wood another color, as I like the natural grain and color or wood, but for the purpose of having a strong counter top, that looks good and can be water resistant was the goal for me.

BTW My plywood said "made in russia" on the edge..LOL was wondering where your plywood was made..

so the way I use the plywood for my project was over a metal frame, I used it on the base, then cut out this strips and spaced them 3/4" from the edge, to install removable panels, which will be finished with the black bedliner. I also water sealed the bottom and siliconed the inside seam on the interior side of that lip, incase there are any accidents. made a little controller panel to hold cables and controllers. this is a pic of when it was in its early stage of the build.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

The bed liner is the best Idea for sealing wood. it looks awesome, clean, and is easy to deal with as far as cleaning. I will never stain wood another color, as I like the natural grain and color or wood, but for the purpose of having a strong counter top, that looks good and can be water resistant was the goal for me.

BTW My plywood said "made in russia" on the edge..LOL was wondering where your plywood was made..

so the way I use the plywood for my project was over a metal frame, I used it on the base, then cut out this strips and spaced them 3/4" from the edge, to install removable panels, which will be finished with the black bedliner. I also water sealed the bottom and siliconed the inside seam on the interior side of that lip, incase there are any accidents. made a little controller panel to hold cables and controllers. this is a pic of when it was in its early stage of the build.

Mine is on the way, the local specialty lumber yard didn’t have any at the moment. So I had to order of of Etsy. I’ll let you know where it came from. But they also call it Russian birch. The two are interchangeable with the wood working guys.
I have the fortunate situation of not having to go over a frame. I’m just doing a 25g lagoon. So I get to employ some traditional cabinet and furniture making on this. That’s why I’m so excited. I’m going to play with a few pieces and see how it looks dovetailed then finished. I’m leaning towards that, so long as it shows through the stain. But if it’s really faint I’m going to skip it and do doweled butt joints and put a high polish edge over the banding after I under cut the forward edges 45 degrees on the table saw. Will also flush mount the doors.

Did you weld that? I wish I could weld.

 

[neonreef3d]

Mine is on the way, the local specialty lumber yard didn’t have any at the moment. So I had to order of of Etsy. I’ll let you know where it came from. But they also call it Russian birch. The two are interchangeable with the wood working guys.
I have the fortunate situation of not having to go over a frame. I’m just doing a 25g lagoon. So I get to employ some traditional cabinet and furniture making on this. That’s why I’m so excited. I’m going to play with a few pieces and see how it looks dovetailed then finished. I’m leaning towards that, so long as it shows through the stain. But if it’s really faint I’m going to skip it and do doweled butt joints and put a high polish edge over the banding after I under cut the forward edges 45 degrees on the table saw. Will also flush mount the doors.

Did you weld that? I wish I could weld.

that should be exciting, looking forward to see how it comes out.