Best method to finish Tiger Maple

[cyclopentadiene]

I am building a matching pair of Maloof side tables using tiger maple. I should have these completed sometime next week and be ready for finish. The wood is extremely clear and white in color. I generally finish using Waterlox as it is a very simple finish. However, waterlox tends to yellow maple somewhat and often with turnings, I will use a wipe on water based poly for this type application. Does anyone have recommendations if one of these finishes is best or if I should try another route as I really want the tiger stripes to pop in the finished piece?

[Tarhead]

I like the way an Amber shellac base sanded back to raw wood pops the curl. You could also use a dark dye followed by sanding back to leave the curl a few shades darker. Follow w/a topcoat. I like to build up a few coats of brush on gloss Poly followed with 400 grit between coats to get close to flat. Then a 0000 steel wool scrub followed by a few thin coats of hand rubbed Gel Poly for table tops. You can just do the Gel Poly on the aprons and legs.

[srhardwoods]

I use clear shellac so it won't amber the white sapwood. I'll do a really good sanding after the first coat and then put one more on. How did the wood that you picked up work out?

Chris

[cyclopentadiene]

Wood is awesome. It only took a couple of passes on each side at 1/64th removal through the planer to surface the 6/4 material. I have not yet worked with the 4/4 stock for the tops. I had a perfect amount for two tables as the only scrap will be a couple of small blocks <6 inches long. Once the glue up of the legs are completed, there will be some waste from the curve of the legs. I will try to post some photos of the progress and the construction of the tables. I have been sick and not worked in the shop very much over the past couple of weeks. I had hoped to have these completed by now.

Do you have photos of the curly cherry that was recently taken from the kiln? It was about 3 hours from Elon to SR Hardwoods but the quality of the material is worth the drive. I will try to plan a trip one Saturday toward the end of the summer.

[srhardwoods]

I went through all the cherry, it came out very nice. 6/4 and 8/4. If you need some pics I'll pull some boards this weekend and email them to you. I was really happy with this load of cherry. A few boards have cats paw as well, so overall very nice.

Glad to hear your project is coming out good and the wood worked well. Pics would be great!!!!

Chris

[RonJ103]

You can use dye to pop the grain. http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/vide...oes-the-maple/

[PurpleThumb]

Rockler sells a Maloof finish that wipes on. Does darken the Maple somewhat but makes figure pop. There is a Poly oil that is used for the first 4 or 5 coats and a finish poly/urethane for several coats. You wipe both on with rag, then remove as much as you can (even multiple wipings) with a clean rag; let it dry then sand using gradually finer paper between coats.

Greg Paolini uses a 3:2:1 finish that I've used with success on Cherry and Oak, never having used it on Maple. I don't feel free to share the formula but am sure he would.

[cyclopentadiene]

Below are some photos of the construction process and the toger maple. The first photo shows the three pieces to make the leg of the Maloof side table. The main piece has a rabbett on both sides to fit into a dado on the center post. The two ends are cut at a 45 degree angle and the arm and foot portions are attached using dowels. The other tow pieces are shown with the arm drilled to accept the two dowels in the center portion of the leg.


The second photo shows the arm glued to the center portion of the leg. For the two tables I now have 8 of these. The next step is to drill the foot and the other 45 degree to accept dowels and flue up the entire leg piece.



Once I have this portion assembled, I will post photos.

[Jeff]

You don't have a lot of scrap stock to experiment with so I understand that you want to get it right. I'm also a big fan of Waterlox, but agree with your view on the amber hue that any oil base finish will impart.

FWIW. Maybe a coat or two of Zinsser Seal Coat at about a 1 lb. cut to pop the grain. Could be wiped on, but spraying would be preferable. It's about as clear and colorless as you can get. If you're satisfied then leave it or apply a water-borne clear topcoat.

[Stokely]

No suggestions here, just psyched to see another skateboarder!

[KenOfCary]

There is a lot of good advice in this thread I started.

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=43448

Most of which I tried but didn't end up using. I ended up using an Oil Varnish finish with extra coats of Polyurethane on the top. It did turn a little darker than the original whitish wood, but I think aged Maple is very attractive. Attempts to prevent it aging are futile in my opinion. I think the oil varnish (I used Tried and True brand as I find it the best one I've tried) really enhanced the Tiger Curl. I'm totally happy with the result. Here is the thread with pictures of the finished Maple Wine Cabinet.

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=44479

Hope this helps some. - Ken.

[cyclopentadiene]

Thanks for the tips on finishing. I am making progress, the legs are completed and glue-up has started. The first photo is the leg assembly before cutting on the band saw.

url=http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showphoto.php?photo=65118&title=maloof-table-leg-before-cutting&cat=500][/url]

The second photo is the finished leg after cutting with the band saw, routing the edges, rasping in the knee section and ends of router cuts and sanding to 120 grit.



I also completed the center post and flued the first two legs to the center post for each table. I will post photos of these parts later.