Arlin asked:
Quote:"Would you happen to have the template I could get from the first one?"
Arlin, I think I have them in the shop and will mail them to you.
Martin asked:
Quote:What was your dye color and your finishing schedule?
I dampened the wood to raise the grain, sanded, then applied Trans Tint "golden brown" in water. I think I sanded again lightly.
Next was a coat of Zinsser "Sanding Sealer". That's when the grain really "popped".
Lightly sanded the sealer then made a glaze with artist's oil paint. Mixed "burnt umber" with some Liquin glazing medium into a medium bodied paste; just a small amount of this mix goes a long way. The Liquin makes the oil paint dry in 24 hours, otherwise it would take maybe a week to dry. The great thing about this method is that if you aren't getting the color you want the sanding sealer prevents penetration into the wood and you can simply wipe it off and mix another color into the paste. Sometimes we add some "burnt sienna".
We learned of this method from an article, "Finishing Cherry", in American Woodworker, #93, April 2002, and have used it ever since. It works wonders on wood that tends to blotch. And it is very nice to be able to just wipe it off if you do not like the look. You can actually blend together old and new wood with this method.
Anyway, I put several coats of General Finish "Arm-R-Seal" oil urethane on to finish it.