Finish on an Oak project

[Eric - St. Albert]

I'm just in the process of completing a oak curio cabinet and will be staining and finishing in the next week or so. My wife would like it stained a dark colour, not sure if the stain colour makes a difference in appearance when using different types of finishes.

My question is, are there any suggestions as to what type of finish I should use/apply to oak?

On my past projects, my kids desk hutches and their book shelves I've used stain with poly (water or oil based) as a finish.

[Lee Brubaker, Edmonton,AB]

Take your spouse to Industrial Coatings just south of the Yellowhead on Fort Road. They are very knowledgable on stains and have at least 20 samples of red oak on the wall with different stain treatments. Let her pick the stain so that there is no griping later LOL

Lee

[Rolly in Westbank]

Hi Eric, I get good results with Watco medium walnut stain rubbed on with a rag followed by 3 coats of Minwax semi-gloss varathane, sanded lightly between coats. -----Rolly