Input needed - dye/leave alone

[John Mihich]

Thanks guys. I'll play a little today. Wife thinks the wood is pretty the way it is. The wood can speak for it's self.

[JR1]

Those are bout beautiful woods. I'd want to accentuate the grain as much as possible. If I had time I'd use real polymerized Tung Oil on thr outside. Allow up to a week to cure. Then whether or not I'd used the oil I'd put shellac om. I like Thai seed on oak and possibly Garnet as a contrast. If you finish the interiors then shellac.

[Gecko]

I say no dye. I like the natural look myself and only use dye to "pop the grain" on figured maple.

[paulmaine]

Oil will make the box darker with time-if it was linseed oil perhaps three years. Dye will make the wood darker and contrasty right away.
There are water based finishes that will not darken much. Many modern looks are lighter, many traditional finishers are darker.
A straight oil finish is easier to do. Some oil finishes will take a long time to dry. These are all considerations-What would I do? Shelac for quality or Formby's Tung Oil for ease of use.

[danceswithticks]

My first choice would be a clear finish, oil if time allows. If I were to color that box, I wouldn't use a walnut stain on that beautiful QS sycamore, perhaps something with reddish tones to tie the sides with the mahogany.

[John Mihich]

I played a little that afternoon. 1. I will not dye it - at least not walnut. Did not like the way it turned out at all. 2. Tung oil turned out the best. 2. Amber shellac - a little too orange for me. 4. Clear coat was good but not as warm as the tung oil.

So tung oil it is. I had some scrap from each box so the wood was identical.

I'll try to get a good picture tomorrow and post it.