Staining Poplar & Birch

[Josh Gerber]

I'm very new to woodworking and finishing for that matter. I'm making a toy box for my son. I was planning on using Poplar and staining it with General Finishes Cherry Gel Stain. I'm having trouble finding Poplar plywood. I've only checked the box stores so far. I know I can find it elsewhere but it would be a far drive and I have no truck, etc. The box stores sell 2'x4' sheets that would reduce cost and I'd be able to transport them. If I use Birch plywood will the 2 different woods stain so different that it would a very noticeable difference? I don't mind a contrast but what is it really going to look like? Does any one advise not mixing the 2 woods? The stores also have Blondwood project panels. Would those be a better choice? Any thoughts?

Thanks

[Jerome Hanby]

I've never stained poplar, but I've observed that the grain is pretty tame, I bet the mix between it and birch would stand out. Maybe you could make that work for you. The hardwood lumber place I buy from here (it's in Alabaster, close to Birmingham,AL) has 4x8 sheets of poplar plywood. I've never seen anything but oak, and lately birch at the borgs here. Could you make the box out of oak? That should stain and look pretty. I think red oak planks and plywood are probably available at your local borg. From my experience, the lumber and plywood (especially the plywood) from the borg is overpriced and poor quality. If you can find a good hardwood lumber yard in your driving range, I'd bet you will get better quality and maybe lower cost.

One thing I did see at the borg that was interesting enough that a bought a little, was stain ready ponderosa panels. The are basically glued up out of narrower stock. Not sure I would have bought them at regular price, but I had a bunch of $10 off $25 or more purchase coupons, so... I originally planned to make bookcases, then changed plans to toy boxes, and latest version back to a bookcase (corner version this time). Yet to crack the plastic seal on any of them yet, maybe if the rain ever stops here...

[Mike Nguyen]

Here's my ongoing master bedroom closet project that I've been working for 8 months. All the doors are made from poplar from Home Depot or Lowes. Plywood for the boxes behind the door is birch plywood from Lowes. I use "Early American" Varathane stain with Arm-R-Seal Satin finish and get very good result. Hope this helps.

Mike

[Josh Gerber]

Mike those look great. So your not seeing a big difference in the two woods?

[Mike Nguyen]

Mike those look great. So your not seeing a big difference in the two woods?

No I don't see much difference between them but it could be because I condition the wood prior to stain and I applied 3 coats of stain to get the dark tone I desire. You may want to experiment with Gel stain to get more uniform appearance. I did all the built-in in my house with just the poplar that I've getting form the borg with good success. I chose poplar because they are cheap and look good enough for me.

[Mike Nguyen]

Josh, here another project I did for the mantel using birch plywood, poplar mouldings and hard board from Home Depot. Hope it helps.
Mike

[Jim Becker]

I only use water soluble dye to color poplar...which I use a lot of since I get it off my own property. "Stains" don't tend to work well on it. BTW, a gel stain is something that sits on top, so be careful it doesn't obscure the grain.

[Mike Schmall]

I've been doing some gunstock refinishing lately and the "cheaper" ones are made from birch instead of walnut. The guys on this site talked me into trying dye instead of stain, I used RIT powdered dye mixed with DNA. I wanted to test the dye before spraying it on the birch gunstock and the only wood that I had laying around was poplar. The two woods came out looking totally different, the poplar dyed very even whereas the birch tends to be blotchy, especially if there's any soft sapwood. They both wind up looking good but they don't match very well. I finished both with Formsby's tung oil finish and the birch seems to have more depth to it, almost a 3-D effect.