Post #546836 by Grand Poobah on Fri, Aug 6, 2010 7:13 AM

I love your work. Theses two are really cool. I hope that maybe you could offer a bit of advice as I think we both don't have the same choices of wood as some of the other carvers. My belief is that palm wood is soft (i don't know this for sure) and the grain isn't as prominent as oak, maple etc. Being a woodworker first I have always tried to show off the grains in any furniture I make. However when it comes to carving I can't seem to achieve the same consistent results especially in hard to reach places. My problem becomes a splotchy stain. Some areas, the grain pops, but others, no. I sand like crazy, (both power tools and by hand) and sometimes I will stain it, hate it, sand it down again and re-stain. This doesn't seem like a proper method. Do you forgo the grain look by purposely showing off the chisel marks? If not how do you manage the tight spaces? How far do you take a grit? I get frustrated when a stain seems to set back what I thought looked good. Any help by you or anyone would be appreciated.