Soft maple Cabinet measures 8" X 16" X 24" high

I built this Soft Maple cabinet for a class that I am going to teach this fall.   The design is simple so the students can focus on  building the cabinet and not be distracted  by  a lot of design details.

This post is about the finish.   If you have ever worked with Soft Maple then you know that this wood does not take the stain evenly,  leaving some areas with more stain than others causing a blotchy mess.  You can also encounter this same problem with other woods like Cherry, Pine and Birch, to name a few.

The solution is simple but it does take a little practice.   As in any finishing that you do, always test the finishing technique on a piece of scrap wood before applying it to your project.

After the sanding is complete and all sawdust has been removed, I apply two coats of sealer,  sanding between coats.  The type of sealer that you would use depends on the top coat.  In this case I used lacquer,  so I used  lacquer sanding sealer for seal coat.

I used an oil soluble aniline dye to color this cabinet.  The dye comes in powder form and is dissolved into lacquer thinner.  Testing to get the right mix is a must. The combination of colors and concentrations is endless so take a little time and test a few samples to get the color that fits your needs.  I mix one quart of  lacquer thinner with one ounce of dye.   Starting with  four ounces of the top coat ( in this case lacquer) I add small amounts of  the lacquer thinner/dye to get the color I am looking for, adding  a quarter teaspoon of the dye mixture to the lacquer each time.  Each step is recorded so I can match the color again in the future.  After the color is added, I test it on a piece of scrap wood.  If the color is too light then I add another quarter teaspoon to the mix and do another test until I get the correct color. I do very small tests in each step because large tests will use too much finish and throw off the ratio of finish to dye.  Remember, I started with four ounces of lacquer and a quarter teaspoon of color and may have to do several tests until I get the right combination.  Once the desired color is mixed and applied to the cabinet I then put on the clear top coats as usual.

There is no shelf life for the lacquer thinner/dye mixture so it can be used in future projects. Check the manufacturer of the top coat material for the shelf life.

Keith