I have an NZ kauri dining table that had one of the glue joints in the top come unstuck and a split adjacent to another joint due to an accident. I have sawn down the length of the table and taken out a narrow strip containing each joint and all the damage and old glue and stuck it back together. I did not manage to get the joints perfect and so have sanded the top flat.

I am not sure what is the most user friendly stain to use on the top. The ones available seem to be oil based or solvent based. The oil types are wipe on, wipe off and look as if they could be best. The refectory base of the table has been polyurethaned.

Any comments please?

Incidentally after I had had the table for a while, I found I knew the man who made it from demolition timber about forty years ago and he said that he had used something like bitumen or asphalt to stain all the furniture he made. At this length of time, he could not remember exactly what he had used.