to stain or not to stain...........

i have built a display cabinet to put stuff in that i find when i'm diving, fancy shells, the odd plate etc. It's more of a glorified book case really. thing is, i built it from pine as that was all i could afford but for the top i have used what was the origonal mantlepiece from my lounge room.

This mantle was in what was the origonal house built some 80 or so years ago. I have stripped the many layers of paint off and sanded it back to smooth lovely hardwood. I'm not sure what it is but it sort of looks like Mountain Ash (i have limited knowledge on woody matters) I counted the rings on the side and there are 85 that i could see but not knowing what part of the tree it came from there could be 3 times that many when it was in the forest.

Real problem is, i have stained the pine in Rosewood to match the rest of the furniture and house (its sort of Federation style now) but i dont want to lose the charecter of the hardwood top. Should i stain that as well or leave it clear and just laquer it? I've kind of already made my mind up i just want someone to confirm my decision really :?

Stain soaks in and is almost impossible to remove if you change your mind.

A stain/lacquer (ie. coloured finish) is easier to sand back if you do change your mind, but can be a right PITA to apply with an even finish.

Personally, I've always reckoned wood goes with wood, whatever the species. :innocent: Besides, if you can't live with it after a couple of weeks/months, well... then you can stain it.

I agree with skew,
Besides that if it is moutain ash or worse, iron bark, this is one of the most difficult timbers to stain, a real pain.

Astrid

Thanks guys, my thoughts pretty well much. The more i look at it the more i love the plain timber and i LOVE looking at the ring structure on the side. It shall remain plain.:2tsup: