Revealing the wood

[bradleyheathhays]

I'm somewhat new to woodworking and I'm planning on doing some live edge tables. My issue is I don't have enough experience reading wood grain so that I'm able to predict what kind of color will come out of a slab once it's finished. As I'm meandering through the local mill is there anything acceptable I can do to the slabs that will reveal their finished coloring? I know you can wet a slab and bring out it's color but I hardly think you should do that to one that's already been dried. Or maybe brush on a little sanding sealer...but that'd probably be frowned upon.


Any suggestions?

 

[Racers]

Wet it, that usually brings out the colour.

Pete

 

[Doug71]

Think the standard way is spit on your finger and wipe it on the wood, or is that just me?

 

[Myfordman]

Any decent timber supplier will let you run a few strokes of a (your) plane over a sawn board and wet it to see the grain pop.

 

[woodbloke66]

Any decent timber supplier will let you run a few strokes of a (your) plane over a sawn board and wet it to see the grain pop.

So you do use the No.4 occasionally Bob :lol: :lol: - Rob

 

[sunnybob]

white spirit on a rag. it evaporates after a couple minutes at most. gives you exactly what a gloss varnish will be.