major wood score

[Stephen Pereira]

Hi all,

i happened to come across about 2000 bdft of birch lumber for a very good price.. twenty five cents/bdft. I prefer the look of oak or ash but the price was too good to pass up. Does anyone have suggestions on staining birch to mimic the color of other species?

[John Lucas]

That is a real nice gloat. As to the color matching, go the one of the big stores and look at their sample display. They will probably be onoak and poplor. Doesnt matter. Buy a variety of stains in the smallest can size and make your own samples. With all the bd feet, it should be easy. If you start to mix them (like a real dark stain after a base stain, keep notes. Same goes with finishes ontop.

[Brian Kent]

Varathane gives out little samples of stain at woodworking shows. I wonder if they would send you some?

[John Shuk]

Wood what wood. No picture it didn't happen.
Welcome to the Creek.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Being a close-grained wood it can have a tendency to be blotchy when staining, like pine. I have found gel stains to work best. I prefer many other woods to birch, but if I found a buy like you got I'd find a home for it somewhere. Good buy!

[Andrew Williams]

I made a tabletop of birch last year, Antique Red Cherry aniline dye, followed by two coats of Walnut Watco, then shellac. It looks very nice. The dye alone is boring, and the pigment alone is blotch city so you must combine them.

[Stephen Pereira]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm going to try the analine dye/stain combo.

I'm going to have to build a lean-to on the back of my garage so I have a place to store all this wood. This birch has been stored in an old dairy barn hay mow for years. The hay mow is chock full of wood.. birch, spruce, popple.. a little 2" oak. I have no idea how much wood is in the old dairy barn but I was like a kid in a candy store. I started sorting through the pile but finally said "heck with it, I'll buy it all"