Reply by DaleM

I have used Minwax cherry stain and I don’t think it’s going to be as dark as what you want. As I understand it, you are trying to make the top look like the cross-section of log with the stain representing bark. If that’s what you are going for, you may want to try walnut stain, which will be much darker than the cherry. Either way, I would try a test piece first. I wouldn’t put any poly on first as you won’t get hardly any stain penetration and darkening at all, regardless of which stain you use. You could wipe some poly on to the middle part that you don’t want stained, which will absorb just slightly into the surface of the wood and keep stain from bleeding into that part. I would test that too on some similar wood to what you are using. Good luck.

-- Dale Manning, Carthage, NY