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Got a set of new oak columns from George Vollema. Very nice quality, but having a hard time matching the very white oak columns to the very amber finish on my pre-dog type M. Any suggestions on stain color? I generally use Minwax Special Walnut, but it is coming out very pale. Thanks in advance

This will be somewhat of an experiment to get the new oak columns to match old and darkened cabinet. My suggestion would be to use amber shellac, that tends to darken oak a bit and it is also the original finish that victor used during this period. You can even mix a stain with the shellac, but I would suggest testing it on a scrap piece of oak first until you get a close match with the original wood. I used amber shellac with no stain mixed with it to cover up some areas of missing finish on my oak L Door Victrola, and it worked like a charm! However, some Victor machines in oak had no finish on it whatsoever except for it being waxed. Do you know if the cabinet is shellacked or unfinished?
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-Steve

No stain that I know of. I did coat it with clear shellack before I realized it had the wrong corners. Will do a test with amber shellack in the next few days, but fear it will still be too light. Thanks for your input.
Mike

When I replaced the corner column of a Victor V in the Johnson Victrola Museum I spent days trying to match the color. Amber shellac will help, but only once you already have the color quite dark. Don't put too many coats of the amber shellac on it, otherwise it will just look orange. I played around with thinning the stain and immersing the column in it for much longer than recommended. Take your time, stain and stain again until you have the right color. BTW, no problem if you get too dark, that won't stick out, but too light will always look strange.

Good luck
Andreas

Use aniline dye stain. They come premixed, in concentrate and dry powder, to which add water or alcohol. Test on a scrap piece first because once you've applied it, there's no turning back. Also, wear gloves! Aniline dye can enter your body through your skin and is not good for you. Don't let that deter you, it's not like you'll use it every day for the next 10 years. Just use care handing it.

JerryVan wrote:Use aniline dye stain. They come premixed, in concentrate and dry powder, to which add water or alcohol. Test on a scrap piece first because once you've applied it, there's no turning back. Also, wear gloves! Aniline dye can enter your body through your skin and is not good for you. Don't let that deter you, it's not like you'll use it every day for the next 10 years. Just use care handing it.

I use either alcohol or oil based aniline dye depending on whether you are using shellac or lacquer. Slowly mix and experiment until the final result is reached, I usually air brush the piece.

Thank you all for your input. Will keep you posted on my progress

I have had good luck with Mohawk Van Dyke Brown stain on Oak to get it to color down. Then use blonde shellac over the stained oak so you DONT impart any color at first. If necessary, I have a preference for Button Lac (caramelamber color) on a darker finish. You will have to dissolve flakes, but flakes are available on line at Shellac.net. crummy website but they have everything regarding shellac finishes! etc. John

Some advice I found on the net that was very helpful to me when I had to redo a case on a Pathé cylinder machine was to put a coat of shellac on the raw wood first to seal it and then put on the stain, as this gives an even coat of stain and avoids blotchiness. Worked like a charm.

Clay

I have had good a record of success getting new corner columns to match very closely. Before doing anything to them I have fumed them using household ammonia cleaner for a few days. Just put the cleaner in baking dish, then set the parts in custard cup and covered them. The fumes serve to age the wood so that when you get to the staining step you are staining wood that has been aged accelerated and is already darkened. Then when the stain goes on you are likely to get a closer result. You sill have to tinker with color stain but not as much.