Curly maple nightstands (Shaker pair)

Excellent work! That a great looking finish on that wood.

Worthy project for such beautiful wood. I like the design and really like the color. Thanks for sharing.

That color is fantastic!

You didn't mention the brand and color dye you used, but I sure would like to know what it is. It is so rich

Great build, too.

Lee

That grain is just SPECTACULAR! Beautiful work as well. Lucky guests that get to stay and use those

That's drop dead gorgeous wow wow wow. Fantastic workmanship and finish.

Absolutely Beautiful! I wish I could find someone with a stock pile of curly maple like that. I like how the tapers and beveled top give it a light, airy feel.

Man, it's a shame that's in a guest bedroom. These are beautiful.

Did you do anything to highlight the curl in the maple? Just curious, I have a blanket chest I am working out out of curly maple and I have contemplated using charles neal's trick of dying it black or dark brown first, sanding off the surface color, leaving the dye that got soaked into the end grain of the curl to highlight the figure. Thoughts?

Wow,excellent work I also would like to hear of your finish methods.

My hats off to you. What an exceptional piece this is. The overall look is stunning. I can agree with everyone, that grain just explodes with the first view. I honestly felt something deep, and said "Yes" out loud. What an awesome post.

Thanks for all the support and kind words regarding my project! It is a good feeling to get some positive feedback from other wordworkers. There were a couple questions about the finish schedule I used. It broke down like this:

The dye was J.E. Moser brand, W1270 Dark Col. Red Mahogany. It is a water soluble aniline dye. I dissolved 1 oz. of the dye powder per 1 quart water. I first applied plain water to the wood to raise the grain. Let it dry for 24 hours and then sanded the raised grain with 220 grit sandpaper. Then I applied the first coat of dye stain and let it dry for 24 hours. Then I applied the second coat of dye stain. I have found that the second coat of dye really helps to even out the color more uniformly. I did not do any further sanding after either of the coats of dye were applied.

The finish on top of the dye stain was Minwax Wipe On Poly in clear satin. Three coats in total with a super light sanding with 0000 steel wool in between the first and second coat. The third coat was left as is - maybe a little buffing with a soft cloth.

Anapolis7: You can definitely lay down ebony (or any dark dye) first, and then sand 80% of it off leaving only pigment behind in the grain of the curl (the curly figure is very much like end grain.) Then follow up with a subsequent layer(s) of lighter colored dye(s). That really highlights the grain and creates bold contrast. (However, on this particular project I just applied one color of dye straight up - no sanding between applications of dye) Look for a LJ blog on using aniline dyes by a member named "Trifern". I credit Trifern's blog and methods with aniline dyes with teaching me how to finish curly maple.

Beautiful ! At first I fought it was some kind of exotic wood. Excellent stain job.

By the way, are there any european/french woodworker who could give me a tip on where to get nice maple like the one used in that project ? or other figured hardwoods ? Because in Europe they always claim that figured wood are reserved for the music instrument industry so they don't let me buy it. In California, I got all my suppliers in a 10min drive, but around Paris, I am at a loss.

Your tables are striking! I am usually not a fan of staining wood but this treatment is artistic. I also like the proportions in the piece. Thanks for sharing!
Salem

Amazing wood and color, and great work. Congrats.

The coloration is just beautiful! fantastic work.

Beautiful Curly Maple & Excellent Craftsmanship!

Not of fan of staining , but, WOW !! This is incredibly beautiful and your finishreally brought it to life.
Nice design as well : ) I strive to be this good someday ! Favorited.

Just what Dusty said! (well, appart from the pens that I do stain on a regular basis, that is!)

the tables are awesome!!! thks for he finishing process explanation..

Beautiful project. Bang up job.