LewisJP

Hey everybody,
I am a fairly new woodworker and very new to this forum. I have designed a project that I am going to be making here in the next few weeks, and I am just trying to plan out all the details. If you look at the image that I attached you are looking at the bottom half of my project. It is 2.25" x 2.25" x .75". The walnut portion is 1/8" thick and the rest is made from maple. Because of the small size of the project, I was just planning on cutting a board those dimensions so I wouldn't have to worry about mitering the corners. However, obviously two of the sides of this box will have all end grain. I was wondering if there was any way of filling the end grain before I rub my finish on (Antique Oil Finish)? Will this look ok or is there a better way of doing this? If not what do you feel is my best option for handling this? Or if you have a better idea all together I am very open for suggestions! I appreciate all help! Thanks
LewisJP

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Wood4Fun

what is the concern that you are wondering about filling the end grain? without covering it, it will always look like end grain. If you are concerned about that it will be darker when you oil it, you can mitigate that by sanding it to higher grits than the rest of the piece... but it will still be darker I suppose. Its sort of hard to offer a solution without knowing what your concern is.

LewisJP

Wood4Fun,
Sorry for not explaining myself well enough. I guess I am unsure if the end grain will ruin this project all together? I would like this box to turn out really nice, and I thought by filling the end grain it may mask the end grain a little. However by reading your post, it seems like that wont work. Do you think I would be better off by mitering four pieces of wood together?

rrich

Hi,

Generally speaking, you're going to sand your project to 180 or 220 grit. If you sand the end grain to 320, 400 and probably 600, the difference in the color of the end grain will almost be imperceptible when using MAOF.

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Use the right tool for the job.

Rich (Tilting right)
Huntington Beach, California
Remember that when we have the "BIG ONE" everything east of the Rockies falls into the ocean.

Wood4Fun

lol, i suppose this comes down to personal taste/style, and what the ultimate use for the box is.

Rich offered up the grits you should go to for sanding... I wasn't sure how hi you would need to go, so I'm glad he chimed in.

I think end grain in some things is ok, in other things, no so ok. really depends... but I will tell you, I typically try to avoid leaving end grain exposed on a piece I am trying to make look really nice. On the other hand, I also like doing stuff that highlights the joinery. rather than just using joinery for function, I like it to be part of the form as well... so, for a box with dovetails, I am leaving some end grain exposed and when it is oiled/finished, that end grain stands out. I even go as far as using different woods so attention is drawn to the joinery (see picture)


For the box below, I didn't use DT's (obviously), so I mitered the corners to avoid showing any end grain. This box would look completely different if the two corners were just butted up to each other


I think we are getting into nuances that the individual must consider for him/her self and decide based on what is appealing to that person.

without trying to lead you into a decision, it sounds to me like you don't want the end grain to show, that you want the box to have a similar look all the way around. you can sand it to hell and back to avoid the piece soaking up more finish and looking darker, but it is still going to be different looking grain than the other two sides. if you want it to look the same way on all four sides, you should consider a different assembly method.