Similar Wood to Alder to Practice/Trial Run Stain

[thewrathchilde]

Need some advice. I am looking for a wood that is similar in character/properties to Alder to test run some stains & dyes on before I stain an Alder body.

On several web sites I have read that Cherry is very similar to Alder in how it takes a stain. Is this my best bet or is there something else I should look at instead. Ideally I am looking for something I can buy at Lowes or Home Depot.

thanks,

Steve

 

[Cagey]

Poplar is probably closer overall in grain and character to Alder, and is readily available at home improvement stores. Plus, it's relatively inexpensive. But, it often has a greenish cast to it, so if you're trying to color match, that might not be the thing to use. Still, it's worth a look. It's not all green. Sometimes you can get a whitish-amber board that would remind you of Alder. I have a piece like that out in the garage right now that a neighbor gave me because it wasn't green, so it didn't match the other stuff he had.

 

[stubhead]

Fresh-sanded or cut pine is pretty darn close. It yellows real quick and it's got variable resin qualities. But If I got my color really close on a sanded-smooth new white pine board, I'd be willing to poke it into the pickup cavities and neck pocket of the alder body to see what happens. If you're going for a five-stain sunburst, hmm. One advantage of the water-based dyes is that you can always bail and start over, the alcohol and especially metal dyes require a deep commitment, like in sickness or in health like NOW.

 

[thewrathchilde]

thanks for the feedback; will pick up some poplar and pine today to refine my technique on.

thanks,

Steve

 

[tfarny]

Poplar is probably closer overall in grain and character to Alder, and is readily available at home improvement stores. Plus, it's relatively inexpensive. But, it often has a greenish cast to it, so if you're trying to color match, that might not be the thing to use. Still, it's worth a look. It's not all green. Sometimes you can get a whitish-amber board that would remind you of Alder. I have a piece like that out in the garage right now that a neighbor gave me because it wasn't green, so it didn't match the other stuff he had.

I have stained both (just once each) and found that poplar did not take a stain very evenly.Alder scraps should be available cheaply on ebay.

 

[Cagey]

Good to know. I've not stained the stuff, mainly because of its natural coloring, but I've put both transparent and opaque finishes on a number of pieces made of it and been very pleased with the results. Like Alder, it looks like you've done more prep work than you did for as nice a finish as you get.

Best piece was a cutting tool display/storage cabinet built some years back out of it, where it was a clear-finished carcass and forest green painted trim/highlights, and that was beautiful. Wish I had pictures of it. It was for a buddy's shop, and I actually fought the project, thinking it would never work out well in practice. I'm happy to say I was wrong.