Birds-eye Maple and Cherry finish

[Matt Barber]

Hi guys,

I've built some shelves out of Birds-eye Maple that have a cherry trim and I'm not quite sure what to use for the finish. I usually just put BLO and then waterlox on most of my stuff (Mostly due to my inexperience with finishing and lack of knowledge in this area) but with the birds-eye maple it seems like it might need some kind of grain filler or maybe even a dye. Now, I have no experience with either of those products or even if those are whats really needed. Some of the eyes are now just holes and some are not. Is this something I just have to sand out or is it something I can and should deal with in the finish. For those of you that have worked with birds eye what have you used to finish it with. I'm really looking for a fairly natural look, I would really like to bring out the character of the Maple and give it a really warm look. Also to be noted, will I be able to use the same finish on the cherry as I use on the birds eye. Is there something more I should do with the cherry to prevent the bloching?

I know this is a lot of questions guys but any help would be much appriciated.

On a side note does anyone have a link to a good thread that talks about dye's ie. how to apply them. how to use them/mix them. That kind of stuff.

Matt

[Joe Chritz]

Test boards.

That is the answer to every finish question for the most part.

The Birdseye likely won't need any filler, although a dye will sometimes accentuate the grain more than oil alone. A dilute dye put on, then sanded back will highlight the grain on figured maple and should do the same on birdseye.

FWIW, I haven't ever been able to see a difference between BLO and Waterlox or straight Waterlox on maple, cherry or walnut.

Go to homestead finishing for lots of finishing information or better yet do that and buy Flexner's book Understanding Wood Finishes.

Joe