Walnut burl

[bensoelberg]

I was roughing out an unstabilized walnut burl blank last night. I was getting quite a lot of tear out, so I decided that a coat of thin CA would be a good idea in order to add some stability. I sanded with 150 sandpaper in order to build up some sanding dust, then added some drops of CA. I was hoping that the CA/sanding dust would fill the holes and stabilize the blank, which I believe it did. My problem is that the CA darkened the wood considerably. I'm sure that as I continue to shape the blank in preparation for finishing, the top layer that has become dark will be removed. I was hoping to use a CA finish on this blank, but now I'm worried that it will just stain the wood dark again and take away from the grain pattern. Has anybody else had this problem with walnut? Any suggestions for finishing that could solve the problem?

 

[Russianwolf]

I don't know of any finish that won't darken the wood some. How much depends on how thirsty the piece of wood is.

 

[ToddMR]

My last walnut I did was black walnut so it was a little darker to begin with. When I did the CA it got real dark, but I could still see the grain ok.

 

[wolftat]

If you hit it with a little BLO first it may help the grain stand out a bit more.

 

[Jmhoff10500]

My dad Mills his own dark walnut so we use that stuff for everything!!! What i have experienced is that just a generous coat of sanding sealer under CA makes for a wood that darkens a little from the sealer but not as much as just the CA...