# Cherry tv stand



## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

Well i finally finished a project ive been workin on for a wile now. I tried to take my time on this one because i usually rush things. Im not to happy wit how it stained and finished but i think ti turned out ok. drawer fronts are almost done.What do you think?


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## Swede (Mar 23, 2011)

Look really nice. Great work.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Looks like taking your time really paid off. Looks great. Very nice work.


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## eigersa (Apr 17, 2011)

looks good


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## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

What type product should i use to keep the stain from blotching? I have used a minwax pre-stain conditioner before but i was not that impressed. I forgot to use it on this project and it really shows.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Cherry is hard to get to stain uniformly. Next time try just a BLO finish...allow the wood to naturally darken with age.


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## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

Isnt blo and oil? what are the steps for aplying it do you use a finish over top?


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## Geoguy (Feb 22, 2008)

Cherry is tough to stain. I've only used it a couple of times and opted not to try to color it. If I may make a suggestion - when you know you're going to stain raised panels, hand-sand the end grain portion with at least one grade finer than the rest of the panel. The stain won't soak in as much on the end grain and the color will more closely match the rest of the panel. Just a little something I've picked up over the years. Please don't think I'm being critical, just offering a suggestion.

Also, I love the fluted legs - very nice touch and well done.


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## Mr Mac (May 31, 2010)

Very nice job on the stand! My wife wants one similar to that and I like the looks of the cherry.


Kevin07 said:


> Isnt blo and oil? what are the steps for aplying it do you use a finish over top?


Boiled linseed oil is very easy to apply. I usually use a foam brush and apply the oil to the wood and after a few minutes wipe away any excess. Allow it to dry (I like overnight) if needed lightly sand away any lifted grain and repeat. 

You can tell if the wood is still taking in the oil or not and, if it isn't you can stop. I think the most I ever applied was three coats on some really old pine. When it is dry I finish it with wax.


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## sanchez (Feb 18, 2010)

That's a nice looking stand. I also like the fluted legs.


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## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

Geoguy thanks for the advice. I dont mind people pointing things out im very new to woodworking and am here to learn. I actually sanded with finer grit on the drawer front which i just put on today. I think i actually heard of this somewhere before. Is on grit up the best or maybe more? I used the pre-stain conitoner this time and things still did not turn out well. Guess ill just not stain cherry anymore. This was my first time attemptings lots of things, first raised pannels first tapered legs first fluting did alot of practice on test pieces. Does the wax over the BLO make a durable finsish? Can you use anything esle over to of it?


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## DustinB (Mar 30, 2011)

Nice job on the stand.

I'm very new to woodworking myself, but I thought I would share my experience in staining another hard wood. I don't know what maple is like compared to cherry, but I found a method that worked for me using the minwax conditioner with hard maple.

After talking to a lot of people and experimenting with several sample pieces it finally worked right. This was using a wiping stain(not gel) in a caramel type color.

I started by sanding everything with 120 with the orbital and finishing with 150 on the orbital. After that I used the foam sanding pads in a 150 grit by going back and forth with the grain to eliminate any swirl marks. After wiping clean I "popped" the grain by rubbing the surface with a paper towel drenched in distilled water and letting it dry completely. Don't sand after popping the grain.

Then it's time to apply the minwax wood conditioner. Using a soaked paper towel apply it generously to the surface. You will notice the grain taking it up more in some areas, keep applying it until there's a uniform standing coat. Wait about 10-15 minutes and wipe the surface dry. Begin staining after 1 hour of initial application.

Next up was to start staining, it's a little hard to explain without showing but I'll try. Using a foam brush apply a thick coat of stain and let it sit 30 seconds or so while folding paper towels for a soft straight edge. Here's the tricky part, if you wipe now it may or may not come out light. The key was to keep wiping lightly with the same paper towel over the surface an observe it start staying darker. Switch to a new paper towel and lightly wipe the rest of the excess away. You can flip the paper towel over and lightly rub any areas that might be a bit darker to smooth it out.

After drying for at least a full 24 hours I proceed to apply 2 coats of poly, I use arm-r-seal. Once the second coat has dried I sand the raised grain away with 320. Another coat or 2, sanding with 320 between them, then switching to 600 grit before the last coat. Haven't tried this with a gloss, but I got a good result using the satin.

Here's a pic of my sample piece:









Also, I tried the same method on some maple ply and it didn't work right. I ended up having to sand to 220 and do away with the water "popping" the grain due to bubbling of the veneer. Did the conditioner treatment the same way, got a good result. As for the end grain, I use 220 grit and the wiping method I described earlier, but it takes ALOT less wiping on the end grain. You can smooth and blend with the last paper towel as describe above, though be careful about the pressure or you can start to rub the stain away.

One note on the conditioner, I'm not real sure but you may be able to make your own minwax style conditioner. Reading the can contents it sounds like it's just heavily thinned varnish. Maybe someone who knows more can comment on that. I was wondering if maybe mineral spirits would do the same thing.

Anyway, a bit long but I hope that helps.


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## mike1950 (Aug 29, 2010)

Looks great to me. Cherry is not easy to stain but on my kitchen cabinets I used a General gel satin finish to seal cherry and then used General gel stain to stain-the wife did not want to wait for cherry to darken naturaly. I wanted to eat, it is her kitchen so we stained them. This method worked great no blotch and was quite easy.


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## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

DustinB ill have to give that a try did you do it on end grain?


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## DustinB (Mar 30, 2011)

No popping, just sanded to 220 instead of 150 and was more than generous with the conditioner. I think the key to the conditioner is to make sure the wood is fully saturated with it. Keep putting it on until there is a solid even coat. As for the time, I found 1 hour works best, though the can says between 15 min and no more than 2 hours.

Either way, I suspect you will probably just have to try different things depending on how different cherry is from hard maple. Maybe have to try different final grits. I started with 220, went to 180, and finally had to do 150 as a final grit to get the shade dark enough. The the important part of wiping repeatedly with the first paper towel, helps force the stain into the wood it seems. If I just let it sit, no matter how long, it only gets so dark. Just dries up instead and becomes a blotchy pain to remove, 15-30 seconds and wiping seems to do it. Careful not to try to apply fresh stain to any areas or add a second coat. The fresh stain removes the first stain and ends up very light and looking horrible even if you get it darker, gotta do it right the first coat.

This was my experience with a difficult wood anyway as a newbie to woodworking. I suspect I'll probably try one of the commonly recommended dies next time. I only did this because I used the manufacturers stain for my kitchen cabinets to match a stand, they sprayed it on, go figure.


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## Kevin07 (Feb 19, 2009)

ill be sure to some experimenting with finishing next time. I really love the dark red color though.


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## Itchy Brother (Aug 22, 2008)

Its very nice looking and you probably learned a lot.I know I learn more with every new project.


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## eigersa (Apr 17, 2011)

Could you not perhaps add the stain direct to the finish? I find that when I stain cypress it blotches as well, so now I add the stain direct to the finish (in my case poly and laquer).


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## SBD (Mar 23, 2011)

The stand looks great!


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## SRWood (Apr 22, 2011)

Excellent job. Very nice!


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