Remove red undertones in red oak

[Robert Hartmann]

I'm making a base for a hand painted ceramic table top we bought in Italy. I suggested making it out of cherry (since I like working with it) or using some of my supply of red oak. I want to stain it dark to go with the outdoor furniture in there (wrought iron framing). My wife agreed on the dark, but doesn't want any red undertones. I'm still a novice when it comes to finishing, but learning. I've used lockwood dyes with shellac with good success and thought I might do the same for this project. My thought was using their standard brown or dark brown walnut dyes. Would this mask the redness? I can purchase some and try it, but thought I would ask the experts here. I'm open to other suggestions. thanks, Rob.

[Mel Fulks]

Sure , that will work.

[roger wiegand]

To mask red add green. So in choosing a dye or stain that is already some kind of brown pick one with a greenish tint to try. Brown is what you get when you mix red and green, so what you want to be doing is adjusting that balance. You can also just use a dilute green dye. Remember that to judge color on samples you really need to go through the entire finishing schedule, including all sanding steps. To do otherwise is to invite a bad surprise at the end.

[John TenEyck]

Exactly what Roger said.

John

[Robert Hartmann]

Roger, thanks for the info. What you said makes absolute since, I just didn't think about it to balance a tint on wood. I thought about it and this seems like something I would have to experiment with to get right. I might get lucky on the first try, but probably not. Maybe an experiment for another time. I hedged on getting some white oak, but here and maybe everywhere it's over twice as much as red oak, not to mention I have a stash of red oak. Gotta make the wife happy, so I'll stick with what I know for now and get some white oak. thanks again.