Hello Dave,

Couldn't agree more: I too hate staining wood. It's hard for me to get it on evenly
and hard to get the colour I want.

Also agree with Jerry in that I mix different stains from the limited assortment
I have at hand. The "Blood Red" I find, as you say "shockingly red or even pink".
I have used Minwax Wood Finish Red Mahogany that has a nice reddish hue and
also the Special Walnut. Also have mixed water based stains found locally in
powder form that I mix with water and some alcohol. One of them is called
"Caoba"-Mahogany that is reddish and another called "Nogal"-Walnut that is
brownish. They do raise the grain some but give nice colours.

And as Keith says, different finishes bring out the natural colour of the wood
in different ways. Plain old BLO really enhances the contrast and has given
some old stocks very nice natural colour. Here is another field for experiments.

Last, I should mention that I am an amateur only.

JMTC

Best,

JC

"...it is always advisable to perceive clearly our ignorance."ť Charles Darwin