: Sorry it’s been so long since I have posted an update. The deck is stripped
: out and I have made the cut for the roller’s recess (that’s a big hole!).
: The inserts are curly maple trimmed with walnut. Each piece of maple is a
: solid block and was trimmed in walnut before adding it to the deck. Then
: they are being planed and sanded to match the deck shape. They had to be
: shaped some on the back side so they would sit on the forms OK. The design
: was programmed into Excel so I could get the shape as I wanted.

: Steve

This is sort of a response to two posts. First of all, are you going to stain the maple to bring out the grain? I've found that though plain curly maple is wonderful, and bit of color really makes it stand out. If so, and this applies to another post lower, you should use a dye stain, like Solar Lux, since they bring out the grain pattern rather than muffling it. Not only will it look good new, but it won't fade from the sun. I think it would be possible to stain just those panels, with care and some masking tape and carefully placed razor cuts.

BTW, my project was a big curly maple box with a mixed stain finished in lacquer. I hope to be putting the final coat of finish on Christmas Day, and show pictures before then.

Chuck