Give Your Wood a Richness and Special Patina
by Greg Alvey
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Choose your preferred wood. It could be the wood easiest to build with or the one that will most resemble the color you desire for the final project. When in doubt, it is hard to go wrong with regular basswood. It is easy to carve, close grained and takes stain well.
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Stain the wood with the stain of your choosing. I like using the Olympic brand of Golden Pecan and Colonial Maple and find them suitable for most projects. You can usually purchase them at Lowe's, Home Depot, or the paint or hardware store of your choosing.
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To create a particularly rich tone, use both stains on the same wood. It does not matter which one you apply first.
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Mop up the excess stain from the wood. Consider if a second coat of stain would help, and if so, apply it now.
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After the stain is reasonably dry, place it in the toaster oven with the setting between 300 – 400 degrees and cook it for around 15 – 20 minutes.
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Check on the wood a couple of times and turn it over at least once after about 8 – 10 minutes. You may find that the stains has collected in a pool or perhaps has beaded up a little. If this happens, take it out of the oven and smooth it out with a cloth.
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If you decide the wood needs to be darker, it is okay to apply additional stain and cook the wood a little longer. Here your personal taste and some experimentation will help you decide what is best for you and your project.
Some additional considerations:
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- the wood can get very hot and may burn your skin so be careful when turning it or removing it from the oven.
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- there will be an odor (although not totally unpleasant) so be sure to cook your wood outside, or in a garage or well-ventilated workshop.
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- be sure to experiment on some test strips before you use the actual wood you intend to use for your building project.