Timber Cookbook Stands – Time to Stain & Varnish

Following up from my recent article on How to Make a Cookbook Stand, I wanted to show how the finished product ended up.

I ended the article with the cookbook stand in its raw timber finish.

I mentioned that I had enough material to complete a few more, and in the end had enough material to make 7 stands all up.

Testing Sample Stain & Varnish Colours

I wanted to use only what I had handy in the workshop. So my choices were down to Walnut, which I recently used on my Coffee Table / Side Table Combo, Teak, and Satin Varnish.

I grabbed a few off cuts of the same timber material, and brushed on the colours to sample the finished quality.

I ended up deciding to use the Teak on 4 of the cookbook stands and the Walnut on the other 3. With all 7 also getting the Satin Varnish.

I now regret not doing any in just the Satin Varnish, as the more I look at the sample, the more I like the wet timber look and the way the grain pattern shows through.

Brushing on the Stain and Varnish

Here’s an image showing the stands after brushing on 1 coat of stain and 1 coat of varnish. I didn’t hinge on the back legs before this stage as I would have had to pull them all apart before the finishing process.

After drying at this stage I gave each stand a light sand and then another coat of the Satin Varnish.