Edge banding on white oak shelves?

[Michael Jasper]

Hi - I'm working on a ladder shelf and getting close to assembly. Since it's a ladder shelf with two vertical supports on each side rather than a solid side as in a bookcase, the shelf end grain will be visible except where they fit into the vertical legs via dado.

I'm using white oak for everything.

I hadn't thought about edge banding for the sides - but I'm wondering if I should. What do people usually do with white oak when the end grain is exposed?

Thanks!
Michael

[John TenEyck]

White oak edge and end grain is beautiful. I'd leave it exposed and finish it as you do the rest. It'll look great.

John

[Brian Tymchak]

I agree with John and would leave the end grain exposed. However, end grain will take more stain and end up darker than the face and edges. If you stay with exposing the end grain, try sanding the end grain a couple grits higher than the face and edges. It burnishes the grain a bit, and evens the color out somewhat.

If you really want to hide the end grain, you could do breadboard ends, with a mitered end joint, but that is a lot of work.

[Mel Fulks]

The old way for expensive work was to mitre in a narrow piece, about 1/8th thick , But now we have “contact paper” !

[Michael Jasper]

I agree with John and would leave the end grain exposed. However, end grain will take more stain and end up darker than the face and edges. If you stay with exposing the end grain, try sanding the end grain a couple grits higher than the face and edges. It burnishes the grain a bit, and evens the color out somewhat.

If you really want to hide the end grain, you could do breadboard ends, with a mitered end joint, but that is a lot of work.

I was planning to use Danish Oil. For the faces of the shelves I'll probably use some GF water based poly over that, but for edges and verticals, probably just the danish oil.

The mitered end joint is way too much work and I won't have time - bringing to my daughter in Philadelphia in about a week! I did think of cutting some strips of the same wood and gluing on the edge, but leaving exposed sounds even better.

[Kent A Bathurst]

......try sanding the end grain a couple grits higher than the face and edges. It burnishes the grain a bit, and evens the color out somewhat....

I've done a lot of stickley-esque stuff out of QSWO. A Lot. I've had great success with this approach. I always use dye first, before a dark gel stain [wipe on/wipe off] as a pore filler. I sand end-grain to 400 - 600, then use an artist's brush to put on a 1# seal coat of pale shellac [like Zinsser's 2# reduced].

The result is that the dyed end grain id a dead-on match for the face grain [which also gets a shellac seal coat before dye]

Without dye, I'd bet that it works great for just stain, as per John & Brian. Test drive on a chunk. Maybe the seal coat helps, maybe not needed.

[Michael Jasper]

I've done a lot of stickley-esque stuff out of QSWO. A Lot. I've had great success with this approach. I always use dye first, before a dark gel stain [wipe on/wipe off] as a pore filler. I sand end-grain to 400 - 600, then use an artist's brush to put on a 1# seal coat of pale shellac [like Zinsser's 2# reduced].

The result is that the dyed end grain id a dead-on match for the face grain [which also gets a shellac seal coat before dye]

Without dye, I'd bet that it works great for just stain, as per John & Brian. Test drive on a chunk. Maybe the seal coat helps, maybe not needed.

Huh. So maybe I should ask a follow up question: what do y'all think of Danish Oil alone or with GF High Perf poly for the shelves? I haven't used white oak before - mostly red oak, maple, cherry and some exotics. I loved the Danish oil on curly maple - but is it not a great choice for White Oak? (By the way, this is plain sawn oak - not quarter sawn).

My daughter likes natural, simple thus the plan to just use oil, no stain. But I'm open to alternate suggestions (as long as they won't require weeks of curing time that I don't have). I recall that I did a small piece using red oak, shellac and the GF HP Poly (the shellac was mostly to keep Padauk trim from bleeding into other wood).

The shelves could be used for things like plants, so I thought I should finish with something at least water resistant.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Use what you know and like. Of course, there are unseen bottom sides to the shelves if you want to try stuff out.

I've just fallen into a rut on my arts and crafts stuff - both mine and commissioned pieces - so whadda I know? This is likely the deep end of the pool, but I'll take a shot at it - My personal opinion has always been that I could do just fine with a sorta-Maloof finish, rather than the Danish Oil crowd. No disrespect intended.

My version was 1/3 boiled linseed oil, 1/3 spar varnish [not spar urethane if I could help it, but sometimes needs must] and 1/3 turpentine.

First coat was 1/4;1/4; 1/2 to thin it to get penetration. Then regular strength. Slop it on with a cheapo brush, look at raking light to refresh to keep wet where it dries, and when it just begins to barely tack, wipe hard and fast with clean rags. A few full-strength coats spread out a day each.

If you do use a dye or stain, it is safe to put a seal coat of dewaxed to start, and then one after the color is on. As per your padauk trim.

[John TenEyck]

I'd leave the Danish Oil on the shelf for white oak. It's too porous. I'd use Arm-R-Seal if you want little color change, or Waterlox if you want a deeper shade, or Kent's home brew. You could apply a coat of Sealcoat shellac followed by GF's High Performance, but the oil based products will have better wear resistance. I would not use the GF product alone as it will look really pale, unless that's what you want.

John