How do you know

[Sean Hughes]

Well I may not post very often, but I probably visit the forum everyday. Anyway I have a new question for everyone. My next project is making a quilt rack for my mother. She wants it to match her existing bedroom furniture. The existing furniture is oak with a very dark stain. The question becomes, do I worry about the type of oak is it, or since I will be staining it dark does it really matter?

Sean;)

[Mark Singer]

The grain will show through the stain ...you should be able to determine if it is red or white oak , qurtersawn, rif sawn, or plane sliced from the grain pattern..Try to find an unstained area on the existing furniture. White oak is much nicer and quartersaw wite oak has the medullary rays which add character...

[Jim Becker]

While I agree with Mark that you should try and identify the type of oak if you can, the good news is that with a typical quilt rack, not a whole lot of it is going to be exposed when in use and the pieces are typically small is scale. Do try to match quarter-sawn/rift-sawn if it's in the existing furniture, however...as that is a very different look from other cuts. There are a bunch of hardwood suppliers not far from you, including Hearne Hardwoods (http://www.hearnehardwoods.com) in Oxford just off Rt 1. You should have no trouble sourcing material that is appropriate for your project, Sean!