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Stain Question


trackman

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Poplar does not stain very well. I use a water based pre-stain conditioner then lightly sand to remove the raised fibers. Then apply stain. The same method for staining pine . Results are decent. I doubt you get poplar to look like oak, hopefully you can get it close to color. Both species have a very different grain pattern though. 

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I agree Home Depot and even Lowes carry oak dowels and also some larger oak used for stairs and railings. You can also glue a couple pieces together and do some segmenting. Stain a piece dark black and sandwich in between to lighter piece and so on. For a project as nice as that I would not skimp on using lesser quality woods to make up for cost. You will never be able to keep consistency colors throughout using light woods like poplar. Are you using a Beall wood threading tool? I have one burried somewhere in my shop that I used for cutting threads for bolt clocks that I make. They work well. Mine is used with a router. They do sell just taps and dies also.  

boltclock.jpg

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There is a lot of variation in dowels.  If it were me, I would sand the dowel and do some trials and would very lightly stain it.  You could then add more stain after it dries to get richer color.   I have better luck with oil based stains than water based in terms of grain raising and blotching.

For me, the key to stain and finish is doing some trials on extra pieces.  You not only test the materials but also learn technique with practice.  Yes, it takes extra time but you better better results.

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