# Making whitewood pine look like Douglas fir



## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

I am building a workbench for my garage, and I am trying to use as much of the wood that I have in my garage to do it. It is time to work on the legs, and I have used all the Douglas fir I had in the garage, but need more wood to finish the legs. I have some lengths of whitewood SPF that I can use, but I don't think I will like the way it looks because of the difference in colors. So ...

Is there a finish or stain I can use on the whitewood to give it a color similar enough to Douglas that it won't stick out and be annoying?

Or do you think the different colors in the legs would give it character and make it more unique? I'll post a pic of a mockup of what it would be like later in the evening.

Last question ... can I assume that it is "safe" to gluelam SPF and Douglas, from a "will it warp because their expansion and contraction properties are too dis-similar" perspective?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

It's the grain more than anything else that sets Douglas Fir apart. Mixing SPF in about all you can do is tinker with a wood conditioner and stain so it doesn't soak up so much stain in the soft grain. You would probably come closer to matching the appearance by selecting some straight grain yellow pine.


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

Sorry about not posting any pics last night of the SPF I have. It got too late to rip the 2x4, so I couldn't put together a mockup.

I think I'll go over at lunch and see if they have some adequate DF. I can use this whitewood for something else later.

Thanks


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## Rick Mosher (Feb 26, 2009)

You could always just paint the legs.


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

So I went to the place where they have the nice DF that I had earlier (and used for the legs), and now the price is $2.68 PER FOOT of 2x4 DF. I need 12 feet of it, so I said no thanks.

So I am using the whitewood I have left over after all, and I'm actually OK with the look of it.

I'll finish the WW with an oil that has some color, and the DF will be finished with un-tinted oil. 

On to the next thing ...


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