Input needed - dye/leave alone

[John Mihich]

I have built 4 boxes. All the sides are QS Sycamore (thanks Tom) and the tops - the ones showing are spalted maple and mahogany. I am thinking about dyeing the sides - walnut maybe and leaving the tops clear. There will be names lazered on the top.

So what does the brain trust think.

[chips ahoy]

John
My vote is for no dye, real nice figure in those boxes. Great job.

Mel

[John Mihich]

The wood is really pretty. I did wrap the sides also. I cut the sides in sequence. Most of the time I don't worry about that but this wood is so neat I had to do that.

BTW - This is groomsmen's gifts that my F-sil wants to give to the groomsmen. It will house a special bottle of whiskey. I am making 4 of them.

[Paul K. Murphy]

I vote against dye.
I like stains and finishes, even "special effects" finishes. Making one wood appear to be another is cool and takes a lot of skill. It's the same with making something appear old. I'm saying this so you will know I'm not partisan in my feelings. Some people hate stains and etc. no matter what. Not me.
I just think you've got some beautiful boxes there that don't need any alteration.

[cputnam]

No stain, no dye. Looks to me that the wood is screaming for oil. Try it on a test piece and see what you think. Garnet or ruby shellac might do the trick too.

[chips ahoy]

BTW - This is groomsmen's gifts that my F-sil wants to give to the groomsmen. It will house a special bottle of whiskey. I am making 4 of them

Wow they will be very lucky men, I would be more than happy with the box, but the whiskey is a bonus.

Mel

[Gary G™]

Test a sample with a warm oil such as Mahoney's--it's Walnut oil, iirc.

[Ken Vick]

I would take some small pieces of wood and try different dyes/stains and see if you like it better. Hard to tell what the sides will look like after that treatment they look sort of "busy" to me now. I always dye mahogany. It just has a lot more character that way. There is a reason that all mahogany furniture has been dyed for eons. Also if you dye some samples, don't make a judgement until you put a top coat on it. It is the color/top coat combination that need to judge. Ken

[thai_woodie]

QS Syc is great stuff. I have built a lot of small boxes with it. I think as others have said, just oil. I have also used super blonde shellac on top after given the oil plenty of time to cure. It really makes it look and feel great.

[Scoony]

I would test a few lighter colors of dye. You can achieve some cool effects using some odd colors and then sanding. Yellows, reds, and oranges can warm up different woods if used correctly.