finishing ash barstool

[Ed Lowenstein]

I'll be trying my hand at David Mark's barstool from a show last year. The only 8/4 hardwood stock I seem to be able to find here in Central Floridas is ash. I plan to use Arm-R-Seal finish but wondering if you would do anything first to stain the wood... Transtint??? what color combination? Thanks much

---> Ed

[Preston Andreas]

I think that ash like oak should be colored before finishing. If you like a lighter color, I would use something like Golden Oak pigmented stain. If you want a dark color, I would use a dye. I usually use TransTint dye. I use the dye for darker colors, because with a pigmented stain, there is too much contrast between the dark and light in the wood. Ash especially with its wild grain will show a lot of contrast. The dye will mute the contrast, but still let the figure show well.

Oh, pick the color of your choice. They all go well with Ash.