wood question, cleaning up cut edges

[jacksonpt]

I'm thinking about redoing my stand and the one thing I can't get a good solution to is the cut edges. The "face" of the board is nice and clean, smooth, takes stain well, etc. But the cut edge is always ugly. It seems to absorb the stain more, thus ends up noticeably darker, etc.

Any tips? I could cover the edges with some type of molding, but I'm going for a cleaner look. Basically I want to skin my 2x4 stand with 3 pieces (1 on the front, 1 on each side) of maple that are clipped into place. When I need to get under the stand, I can just unclip them and set them aside.

Am I making any sense?

[billdogg]

yes you are. making sense. i think. if i am reading you correctly, what you need is some edge banding - basically a roll of veneer, usually with heat activated glue, to put on the edges. because youn are going with maple, you will probably have to visit a woodworking store (woodwerks or woodcraft come to mind) or shop online. If the people at HD/Lowes even know what you are talking about, the best they usually have is red oak.

HTH

[THE ROOK]

Could just give the edges a 45* backcut.

[BeanAnimal]

Your cut ends needs to be prepped better. You need to go through the steps of sanding from very coarse to very fine sandpaper. If the endgrain still takes too much stainm then you can use a sanding sealer to close up some of the poors in the wood so that less stain is absorbed.

[hebygb]

+1 on Bean...

There is no substitute for a sharp blade, or a finished pass with a router, and of course diligent use of sanding techniques.

The 45 degree back cut sounds interesting except it opens the door for a chip or flaw during the life of the tank.

[jacksonpt]

I tried the backcut method on my current stand. If I had a better/bigger table saw, or more help, it might work. As it is, I can't get those cuts perfect enough and it ends up looking like crap.

I'll try the sanding... I can handle that. How fine a grit should I be using for the final sanding?

[foster200]

yes. sanding is your best bed. What i would do is cut a 45 and then sand it down to a nice curve. The 45 will let you do minimal sanding while maintaing the best look.

[BeanAnimal]

I tried the backcut method on my current stand. If I had a better/bigger table saw, or more help, it might work. As it is, I can't get those cuts perfect enough and it ends up looking like crap.

I'll try the sanding... I can handle that. How fine a grit should I be using for the final sanding?

Start with #60 and sand it until the only marks you se are those from the grit of the #60... then #80 and sand until all the of the #60 marks are gone. Then 120... then 220...

You can stop the faces at 120... sand the end grian with 220, 280 and or 320 to reduce the exposed pore size even more.

[MayoBoy]

Put a spitcoat of shellac (or use Zinser Seal Coat) on the endgrain. Then it will absorb stain the same as the face and edge grain.

Or, make it all out of q-sawn white oak, fume it with ammonia and seal it with orange shellac.

[ultreef]

I just recently finished my DIY stand. Maple is considered a soft wood so you'll want to use a conditioner prior to stain for an even stain result.

[kimber45]

I just recently finished my DIY stand. Maple is considered a soft wood so you'll want to use a conditioner prior to stain for an even stain result.

i thought maple was a hardwood because it's seeds are covered.

[BeanAnimal]

Maple is a "hardwood" but it is one of the softer species.

[coralnut99]

Maple is a "hardwood" but it is one of the softer species.

+1 Lots of different species. Also the same species will vary in properties depending on where it grew. Rock maple will make short work of most blades, while softer maples grown near wet areas can be a soft as white pine.

If it's the end grain you're having issues with, the suggestions above of progressive sanding grits will work best, but even when you get down to 220 grit, end grain may still be a bit darker. Applying sealer as the last step should get you there.

[NanoReefWanabe]

you could also cover the corners with some sort of nice decorative corner molding, and only glue/ brad it to one face of the stand (presumably the face of the stand...then the molding will wrap around the corner of the stand covering your end grain of the side pieces...or which ever way the end faces..it wont matter if covered) then all three pieces of the stand can still be removable as the corner molding are only attached to the one side of the stand...plus a corner molding will help you hide imperfections in the cut edges of the ply...