[Woodcarver] Basswood Finish

[Doris Briggs]

Hello Al,

> I am making a golfball-in-cage of basswood as a mememto for a friend 
> who got
> a hole-in-one. I am burning images on the upper four sides of the 
> basswood
> block and relieving some of the images. I want to give the whole thing 
> a
> nice finish (not painted) and am tending toward stain but do not want 
> it to
> look blotchy. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

In Dennis Moors book, An Introduction to Chip Carving, there is a 
method for staining basswood to avoid the darkening of the end grain 
and thus making it appear blotchy.  First you seal the wood with 
polyurethane satin, matte or flat spray, three very light coats and 
then apply the gel stain.  He recommended either Minwax Gel Stain or 
Bartley Gel Stain, but it must be polyurethane based stain so that it 
will adhere to the polyurethane sealer.  Apply with a brush and then 
wipe off with a lint free cloth, keeping a second brush handy to clean 
out any indented areas.  Work a small area at a time so that the stain 
doesn't become dry and that way you can keep it even.  It is a good 
idea to try on a practice piece first and see how you like it.  I did 
see some pieces that Dennis had done and they were lovely.  We are 
about to try it ourselves and have just bought the necessary supplies.

Doris