# staining hickory



## sarahss (Feb 23, 2011)

We're tossing around the idea of building some cabinets out of hickory. Does anyone know of any problems that we might encounter in staining hickory? I see some people on the internet claim that it's a bear to stain due to the density. I need to mention that we have not picked out a stain yet, so as long as it's a color we like, we are open to water based, gel, solvent based, etc. Just don't want anything that ends up looking "muddy" like some of the stuff at the big box stores. Will probably use a low gloss poly finish-not sure if wipe on or spray. Something durable for bathroom or kitchen use. Any advice would be welcome.


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## GaryC (Dec 31, 2008)

I think Robin Renee "Woodchick" built her kitchen out of Hickory. Might check with her


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Stay away from the typical borg offerings, and go with a dye. The oil based stains (in my experience) will just wipe off after loading the pores.
Do you have a real paint and finish dealer in your area? If so, head that way with some off cuts that you can play with to get the color and penetration.
Bill


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## terrystggs (Mar 7, 2011)

hey sarah. we build out of hickory all the time in our shop and there is nothing to the staining process. we use lacquer based stains because they dry faster but any oil base stains are great. the secret is in the sanding. most think you have to polish the wood super smooth. that is why it doesnt take stain. we finish sand with 100 grit paper on oribital sanders. the stain will come out uniform in color. hope this helps Terry


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## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

we have done plenty of hickory. Hickory stains just fine and accepts the stain even. A couple customers wanted a "fruit wood" stain that i get from Sherwin. The fruit wood color goes really nice with the hickory. But, with this said, i would strongly advice against staining hickory. Hickory is extremely beautiful and does not requirw any help feom stain to look stunning. Hickory boast such beautiful colors and charactor. Hickory has some areas of beautiful streaking ebony colors running through areas of light blondish wood.

One other thing about hickory, it is heavy in your hand and it is very hard, it rivals hard maple.


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## ScottN (Jan 24, 2011)

I agree with flyforfun…Not sure why anyone would want to stain hickory.

Also agree with terry on sanding.Except 220 would be my minimum grit I would use. And I would spray on the stain, you have more control on how much the wood can absorb.


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## Jeff28078 (Aug 27, 2009)

I have to chime in on the non-stain side. Before you decide try some clear finishes on some samples. Look at my roll top desk project to see natural hickory with a clear satin finish.


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## sarahss (Feb 23, 2011)

Your roll top desk is beautiful. I'm glad to hear hickory takes stain easily. We are building and have selected a hickory flooring (Shamrock brand, saloon series, the color is "saddle") and want to use hickory for all the floor, door and window trim, in addition to vanities, cabinets, etc. The reason we want to stain it is so that it matches the floor and all flows together nicely. I agree that it is beautiful, but with the flooring we've picked, I think it would look better stained. I guess the other question is about working such a hard wood. I read that you should pre drill-no problem, as we're using a lot of Kreg screws anwyay. I also read that you should use carbide tipped tools since it's so hard. Any tips on machining it? Gonna get about 100 bf of wood to practice with before we commit to enough for the whole house.

Here's a link so you can see the color. Opinions welcome!!

http://www.nationalhardwoodflooring.com/prefinished-hand-scraped-flooring-saloon-series-engineered-hickory-c-6_176_178.html


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## Jeff28078 (Aug 27, 2009)

It is very hard and you should definitely use carbide tipped router bits and of course saw blades. If you have to plane some wood then just be sure your planer blades keep sharp.
On matching the color of floor and cabinets that's usually not advised. You should have at least a bit of shade difference between the floors and cabinets.
I did my kitchen with natural hickory cabinets. Actually this experience was why I built my desk out of hickeory. But my floors are natural red oak.


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

Another vote for not staining.

As others have mentioned, hickory has a lot of natural color and grain variance. I think it is one of the most beautiful and underused woods around. I'm not trying to tell you what color your cabinets should be, but I would highly recommend that, if you do decide to stain, test finish a fairly large slab first to see how you like it. All the natural wildness in the hickory may affect the appearance of your chosen stain color in ways you were not expecting.


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## sarahss (Feb 23, 2011)

What about the trim at the floor and around doors? I can see everyone's point on the cabinets being natural, or lighter than the floor, but would it look strange to have something so light right up next to the floor? What would look best?


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## TJU (Feb 16, 2011)

I use to work as a trim carpenter and most of the time the cabenets and floor were not the same. That's not to say it wont look good if you match them, sometimes it's like it is too much of a good thing. Usually the shoe molding and toe kicks around the cabinets match the cabinets and the baseboard around the floor is the same throught the house. There are always exceptions.
Tim


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## Jahness (Nov 1, 2010)

At one of the shops I use to work at we would add the stain color right into the Lacquer so when sprayed it was always uniform in color. We used that technique on many different types of wood. Never did work too well with water based and Poly was not an option at that shop.

John


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Leave some contrast between the cabs and the floor. If you don't, it'll look like everything is runnin' together. Some demarcation adds interest to the layout.
Bill


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## jusfine (May 22, 2010)

I would agree with Tim and Bill, variation of color or species between floor and trim or cabinets provides interest.

I really like the look of walnut, and decided to use it for our main floor. To make sure it contrasted with the millwork, we changed our mind from using walnut cabinets and used a lighter color material and we are very happy with that appearance.


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## woody57 (Jan 6, 2009)

I built the cabinets in my kitchen out of hickory. I used a light brown oil based stain. I wanted to minimizes the contrast between the light and dark wood. I sanded to 120 grit. To finish I used a spray laquer and sanded with 220 grit between coats. I like the look. I think it turned out great.


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## terrystggs (Mar 7, 2011)

as i said we use alot of hickory and agree with everbody that you do want a contrast. if you really want a rustic look use a #2 comon hickory. has alot of beautiful grain and knots. it is much cheaper and you can cut out what you dont want. you get to choose how rustic you want it. beware it is very hard to work!!!!


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## semi75 (Jun 17, 2010)

Hickory unstained is a beautiful wood. That said I think people stain it to subdue alot of the wild grain patterns often found. I also vote for the floor and the cabinets being at least slightly different, it just looks like too much of one thing. For example I have oak cabinets and oak wainscotting in my kitchen, now imagine how crappy that would look with the same oak flooring. Not to mention the engineered wood you are looking at looks much darker than the typical hickory saddle. To stain the cabinets and the floor that color you need a lot of natural light and light colored counter tops or it would be dark in there. I come at this from a remodeler stand point more than a wood worker, I'm still too new at that to speak w/ an authority.

Also are you hard set on your flooring choice? If you are still looking Truehardwoods a reseller in GA usually has some great sales on major brands. Just food for thought.


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## ScottN (Jan 24, 2011)

I'm building a set of cabinets and tried to get the #2 com but they were out so I went with the #1 com. Very seldom I ever buy premium select anymore, unless I'm doing a trim job where I need 12' long pieces.


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## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

I also agree that #2 common should be preferrable for reasons already listed. Some yards may refer to this as "rustic".

I wanted to also mention that one year ago a customer had me color match the wood flooring he bought. We built with Maple. Without any consideration to the above opinions on this matter, i did what wqs requested and was proud to say that we provided them a cabinet that was a nearly identical color to their floor. But now whenever i look at pics i keep telling myself that is way to much of one color plus you cannot even tell where the floor stops and the cabinet toe kicks begin. I think that really took away from the overall look of the kitchen cabinets.

Concerning working hickory, we use shapers and it machines well dor us but if you are using a router table the process may be much more difficult when raising panels and running stiles and rails. You definitely need sharp cutters, if a router table i would suggest trying to use a 3 hp motor. Smaller routers will tend to leave burn marks in your profiles of your stiles and rails. When raising the panel, if done on a router, may take as much as 5 passes.

When using a shaper the panel cutter can be installed upside down which actually lends itself to holding the panel flat on the table. And of course with the money saved with building your own cabinets a shaper could be purchased and maybe even resold in the end.

I may have fotten off on some tangent but your question is a little more difficult when i am not sure what type of tools you have available.


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## Earlextech (Jan 13, 2011)

Hickory is a wood that you use when you want to see what Hickory looks like. It needs no stain.


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## sarahss (Feb 23, 2011)

We have a router, but no shaper, but if there's an opportunity for a new tool…...

We are not set in stone on the hickory flooring yet, but the kitchen floor will be tiles (12×12 porcelain or ceramic) in a color that has some variation to the tiles-sort of off white to light brown-we live in the sticks, so it matches the dirt!! The floor in the great room, bedrooms, dining room and office will be some engineered hardwood-species still to be determined, but hickory is the front runner right now. We just didn't want to go too dramatically different with grain pattern-didn't want to use cherry for instance, and we really think oak is nice, but overdone. We wanted something a little off the beaten path. If we use the hickory, we will be shading the floor, door & window trim a shade or 2 lighter than the floor for the reasons mentioned. That will likely be the case if we use it for the cabinets too. We're going for something with a mission feel, but QS white oak is too $$$ for us. Not staining the cabinets (in hickory) is also an option. Just depends on what the other half likes.


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## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

Walnut is also very nice and affordable when you get it #2 common.


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