finishing butternut

I’ve got two or so tree’s worth to experiment. and i started today. one side of a board various stains (minwax) and the other a pre-stain conditioner.

the straight stains that were lighter did good. darker ones (“special walnut” “ebony” and another) hopped into random pores and made a bunch of little specs on the wood. (not even how staining open pored oak at least it follows the grain.) seriously it almost makes the wood look like bamboo or something.

i’ll be able to give a shot on staining the “pre-stain conditionered” side later. but for now… i like the blonde coloring, but i’m designing furniture for a room and my wife is thinking a darker wood. buying a bunch of darker wood seems silly since i have a lot of butternut.

so
what do i need to do make this butternut look like a dark walnut? pore-filler?

-- Josh - Jacksonville, FL, http://jubinsky.wordpress.com