Neander' Project II (What Finish?)

[Erich Weidner]

I completed my all neander' project #2 today. I'm not sure if I should paint it, stain it, or just varnish it. Thoughts?

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As you can see the two rails and drawer front don't terribly match. This is due to all the mistakes which necessitated tossing the initial rails which were cut from the same board as the drawer front. I cut them both too short and/or butchered them in other ways. So I had to redo pieces. This project was made entirely of leftover red oak from a bar top project, and the main point was for M&T practice.

It is going to end up in my pub/hobby shop as a stand for a paint rack, so I don't want it to look any more terrible than necessary. So, hence the thought that maybe staining or painting will help blend the front better together. If painted, not sure where to stop on the drawer? Paint over the dovetails/drawer top/bottom/front? Just the front leaving bottom/top natural?

438789 438790 Dovetails fairly gappy... originally I cut them away from the knife line by a tad thinking the pine tails would better compress/fit in the oak pins... but it wasn't going in. After paring down they ended up like this. Oh well, I'm sure next project will be better.

PS If anyone was following my project #3 (Tool Chest), yes I finished that first. After I started #2 I was pretty frustrated by all the mistakes I was making with the M&Ts and even more so by my tool disarray. I set aside #2 and started #3. The tool chest was all-in-all way more fun, and it was rewarding to finally get my tools so much better organized. But as learning curve goes, all three projects were major gains to my neophyte hand tool and general woodworking skill set.

[David Eisenhauer]

From here, it looks square, sturdy and well made. Decent work Erich and looking forward to #4. You may not realize it, but you have many others here on the forum that are riding along with you. We have all run out of preferred material and had to settle for less-than.......... I would paint it if it is going in your place of business, maybe a flat primary color that will provide a background for but not overwhelm the product it is intended to display. I would paint the entire (360*) thing and not leave anything natural, not because a shot is intended at any part of the table, just thinking of a display stand in a business. The product is the star, not the stand. I would add in some fix to the gappy dovetails prior to painting. Thanks for sharing.

[Phil Mueller]

We woodworkers are our own worst critics. Sure, a few things could have been more perfect, but I’ll bet you never get a comment on the front grain match from anyone other than maybe a woodworker. I think it’s a very nice piece and, in my opinion, does not deserve paint.

I like oak when it’s a medium to dark brown. I’d likely use Watco dark walnut...try it on a sample board. A few applications, wet sanded, and some top coat.

Keep in mind, that the dovetail pins are end grain. So a little dark filler will not be that noticeable.

Also, if you go that route, do not apply the watco to the inside of the drawer...it will smell for years. Just leave the inside natural or use shellac.

[Richard Hutchings]

Those gaps in the dovetails are big enough to drive shims into. I would do that before moving on. Using the same wood it would probably be a perfect fix.

Ignore the above, I had no business suggesting it. Your question is about finish. To that I say no to paint. This is going to look great under a clear finish.

[Michael J Evans]

IMO you paid and made it out of oak and should do something that shows it's grain or keep it wood looking. I would personally do a dark stain. But I really like mission type furniture.

[Richard Verwoest]

Milk paint

[Erich Weidner]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm still waffling.

Though I've only used paint on three wood projects to date (a router storage box, the tool chest, and a media equipment rack I built years ago... incidentally also of oak), it has grown on me. That media rack mentioned does show the wood grain through the paint, but it is subtle.

But that being said, I like the look of wood quite a bit (go figure, being a budding wood worker... pun(s) intended). The home for this stand is in a pub/retail shop trying reasonably hard to make one feel like an old English pub (budget and the realities being in a strip center building meaning one can only go so far with it). But there is a lot of stained oak trim in the place. I probably should have mentioned it before. Trying to evoke the idea of a timber framed building of yore.

Strangely I can't find a great picture of the wood faux beam work (or the bar)... but this pic gives the idea of the treatment (and staff members mugging it up for a social media post as we try to financially survive COVID).
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[Tom Bender]

Yeah, drive dome shims into those dovetails and sand them smooth. Finishing suggestion; leave the drawer sides and interior unstained. Stain the base dark. Leave the top light. Give the whole thing a coat of poly and a couple more coats on the top.

[Erich Weidner]

Yeah, drive dome shims into those dovetails and sand them smooth. Finishing suggestion; leave the drawer sides and interior unstained. Stain the base dark. Leave the top light. Give the whole thing a coat of poly and a couple more coats on the top.

Yeah, I did that day before yesterday actually. Peer pressure and all. ;) (Kidding, I was just going to leave it as I kind of just wanted the project done, but since the point of these neander projects for me is to learn, I did it. Looks much better now).

After experimenting with some Dyes from Transtint on scrap, I ultimately went with a GF oil stain (American Walnut).
I stained the pins and oak front (used an artists brush to get the pins... little bit of bleed, but it is OK).

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[mike stenson]

Looks good Erich! The tint the walnut stain gave it will fit right on in inside a pub!

[Erich Weidner]

Looks good Erich! The tint the walnut stain gave it will fit right on in inside a pub!


Thanks! I hope so and hope that it'll do its part to help sell product. (It is a bad time to be a small business mostly centered around social gatherings.)

I can't wait to get this part done. I always dread the staining/finishing stages as I basically lose the shop for 3-4 days... one coat per day is usually all I can manage as I rarely get up early enough to do a morning coat before work. So it is always in the evening it seems. :)

[Tom Bender]

I stained this desk to darken and even out the Mahogany. The end grain of these dovetails got darker with just the topcoat so careful staining was not needed.

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Hmm...my dovetails don't look so good close up.

[Richard Hutchings]

They look nice to me and they'll probably last forever.

[Erich Weidner]

I believe I know that if I'm going to finish the interior it should be just with shellac, or wax or something which isn't oil based and hence take forever to dry (and smell).

However, I'd like to put some kind of protection on the interior. If just to make anything spilled in it have a chance to clean up. (It isn't really that big of a deal though).
I was thinking a coat of Briwax and call it a day?

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[David Eisenhauer]

It is really hard to pass up shellac IMO Erich. Easy to apply, long lasting-resistance to wear after it cures out, colorless (unless you don't want it to be), odorless, fairly resistant to spills besides alcohol, etc. I want to say shellac is inexpensive but I don't really have any data to back that up at all. A wax only finish would be quicker than a shellac finish though. BTW, you ended up with a very nice little end table for your efforts. Thanks for sharing.

[Erich Weidner]

A wax only finish would be quicker than a shellac finish though. BTW, you ended up with a very nice little end table for your efforts. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for following my newbie journey. :)
I think I may just do wax, easy, renewable, and I'm ready to move on to another project. (I have never used shellac... so more reading would be required.) I'm feeling lazy this weekend.

This started out as just a stand for a rack of model paints. But scope creep happened as I wanted to practice M&T joinery and the drawer/carcass construction. I'll post a pic after it is in place at the pub/shop (Though I think I'm going to groan that all the time put into this will just be a glorified stand). But, it was a good learning experience regardless. :)