Staining Baltic birch

[Gonzo]

Has anyone had any luck staining Baltic birch? I'm making a clock and almost to the point of staining. However, every time I've tried to stain plywood, it gets blotchy. Also, it bleeds into the end grain. Not sure if I want that on the gears.

[Lucky2]

Gonzo, you should pretreat your plywood with a wood conditioner, using it makes it so that the stain doesn't penetrate so deeply into the wood. Actually, it's like a light coating of shellac, it stops all blotchiness.

Len

[Scrappile]

Okay, Gonzo, I was really hoping for progress pictures.  I do so want to build a clock.  I down loaded patterns/instructions for a what is suppose to be an easy one (free plans).  Been sitting here studying then to avoid having to polish more brass rod for the robots (the only part of making them I find boring.  I can't help on you question, I know little about good finishing/staining.  I will be watching this thread and learning.

[heppnerguy]

I trust the knowledge of Len. He only talks about things that he knows about. I have never found him to put out anything questionable. I have not stained any BB Ply that I remember of but if I were to do so, I would follow Len's suggestion

 

 

Dick

heppnerguy

[WayneMahler]

I pre-treat mine the same as pine. A conditioner works wonders. Makes for an even coating.

[worbler]

To stop the bleeding don't brush it on, use a sponge or something similar and wipe it on. Also, not that I've actually tried it but you could stain the piece of wood before you cut.

[danny]

Well I have been almost constantly crafting using Baltic Birch and Very few problems using a OIL....I use mainly Danish Oil Products.

Straight out of the can or I sometimes will mix Mineral Spirits with it to lighten it.   Also I use a lot of a 50/50 mixture of Limeseed Oil

and Mineral Spirits.  Makes staining go farther.  Cheaper also.    Hope this helps..........Danny  :+}

[David Lehner]

I have been staining Baltic Birch for years.... my secret is I sand every piece (even the small ones with a 180 or 220 grit ... I use a mouse sander ... the sanding seems to seal the pores of the wood so the stain does not soak in.... by sanding the stain will not be as dark as it is not soaking in... I use small foam brushes to do the staining and Heavy duty blue shop towels to wipe it off.... after staining throw brushes away ... they are inexpensive and not worth cleaning

 

after staining I use a clear Danish Oil to seal the wood and highlight the wood grain... I do not like a glossy finish so I use 1, maybe 2 coats... I apply this with disposable foam brushes also 

 

When I assemble the clocks I glue and use a 23 ga. pin nailer which makes the clocks really quite sturdy

 

This works for me ... a couple clock examples shown 

[oldhudson]

I seal projects, if I'm concerned about and even stain, with shellac. I mix 1 oz of flakes with 8 oz of denatured alcohol. New batches about every 9 months to make sure it's fresh. This will dry in 15-30 minutes and needs a very light sanding, followed by getting the dust off with a tack cloth. (Don't shellac any project that's likely to come in contact with alcohol in it's normal use.)

 

The wooden gear clock I made I applied two coats of shellac as a finish, including the edges - nothing else on the BB stock. I used BLO on the cherry.

 

I'll join others I requesting pics of the project as you go and the final project.

 

[crupiea]

Get some pre stain.  What I do is go over they whole sheets when i by them with the stuff and sand them off a bit.  After this the blotchy stuff will be a thing of the past.  Its just this white watery looking stuff you brush on, let dry for a few minutes, wipe off and sand.  takes 15 minutes max and works great.  i think its called minwax pre stain of something like that,  a quart will last you for the rest of your life basically.

 

got this tip from a guy who used to build high end furniture so it works.

[Gonzo]

Thank you all very much for your input. I do appreciate it.

To Scrappile and Oldhudson: I will hopefully have something worthwhile to show by the end of the weekend. Right now all I have is hanger box and clock backbone.

Thank you Oldhudson for showing the pic of your clock. I like your idea of using hardwood for the clock hands. I think I asked you this already but so you live near Old Hudson Road on the East Side?

[amazingkevin]

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