From The Oak

Woodworking, because it's such a calming and restful hobby, is rarely associated with hair loss. But in this case, this vexed woodworker has set about making a gift for his stepmother and writes "I'm pulling out my hair." His task was to make her a quilt rack out of red oak. Now he's down to the finishing stage and wondering about what to do with the pores of the red oak.

You see, all the furniture in his stepmother's house has a golden oak finish that did not include filling the pores. His conundrum consists of whether to finish the piece to match what she's got or to do it the right way. So he asks the group what he should do.

The first response wasn't all that helpful. He told the original woodworker to use white oak (too late), worry more about the joinery and design, and finally to let the wood speak and fill the pores. A pragmatist then offered the advice that, if mom likes golden oak, then match the piece to the furniture she's got. Otherwise, he suggests, he risks giving her a piece she doesn't like the look of AND one that will make the rest of her furniture look shabby. "Lose-lose, if ya ask me," he wisely writes.

Someone suggested that sanding between coats of polyurethane will fill the pores but will still create a match in the color of the piece. Someone else argued he won't have time to do that before Christmas, as it will take about a dozen coats.

The final participant seemed to have a good solution. He suggested getting some red oak paste filler and mixing it with some of the stain (so the color is evenly distributed). Then stain it, let it dry completely, and apply a couple of coats of lacquer sanding sealer. After that, sand with 320 grit paper, and put on more of the paste. He writes, "it will fill the grain the same color and not mess up the rest of your finish." If it gets too dark, sanding will lighten it. Finally he suggests five coats of lacquer (which dries fast) and then a little buffing and polishing.

At the end, the woodworker took the wise advice of making the piece match the other furniture, but confessed he would try some of the suggestions to try to get to a happy medium.

Editor's Note: Most of the "golden oak" era furniture was actually made from ash instead of oak. Ash does not have the large pores you get with red oak.
Rob Johnstone