I was donated this piece of wood, it had been cut unsympathetically so I was unable to better balance the grain around the form. However the unevenness has added to it's character.
The grain was very tight, I was struggling to find a way to make it show. I'd tried a well thinned stain, that brought out some of the highlights in the grain but did not achieve what I wanted. So I rubbed some brown shoe polish into it and buffed it off again, it held in the grain bringing out the swirls and twists the way I'd hoped.
Frans, next time I think I'll see you will be Westonbirt, I'll try and remember to bring it along.
