help needed-what's your favorite color?

[rocky brown]

what's the first color you reach for when staining:

a. maple
b. cherry
c. mixed colored wood like pecan, etc

i've made a bunch of boxes but haven't stained any of them yet because i can't decide by looking at color charts which to use. any thoughts, helpful hints, or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

thanks!
rb

[Jim Becker]

I so rarely color wood, but when I dye poplar, it's generally in the natural cherry realm (not that fake dark cherry color you often see on store-hawked furniture) Do remember that the names of stain and dye colors are just something that someone in the marketing department dreamed up with maybe a little input from someone who has actually fondled a woodworking project... ;) The name doesn't necessarily represent what the color actually is. Always test on scrap first.

[Corey Wilcox]

I agree with Jim, I rarely color wood myself as I prefer the natural color, but....that being said I like to use tinted oil or oil/varnish for maple (tung oil, linseed oil, Waterlox) to give it a nice yellow color. For cherry I would just set the boxes in a sunny, but not overly warm (you don't want any warping issues) area for a few weeks and let them take on their natural color. I find that I never like stained cherry. For hickory and oak, I like Spring Oak by Varathane. Leaves a nice golden color that people always seem to like.

[rocky brown]

thanks for the feedback, guys. i don't think i'll be staining the cherry- blo darkened a scrap piece the shade i like, but the pecan turns a greyish-green color when i use the blo on it. i'll look for the varathane and give that a try.

thanks again,
rb