I am in the process of making a chest out of baltic birch and have quite a bit of it done. It is trimmed out with red oak. I used baltic birch because of its strength and the fact that it has a reputation for being free of voids.

I am now wondering if I have made a mistake by not using an oak cabinet grade plywood. I tried a few test pieces of scrap with some of the stains that I have on hand and it did not seem to look very good stained.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions they have experience with.