Danish Oil Finishing Question

[Miss the Pontiacs]

I have a fireplace mantel I working on. I found some 2x8s wide grain planks. Mirrored/ book ended them and glued together. I used Fruitwood coloured Watco Danish Oil. Applied first coat and haven’t burnished as of yet. Two of the blocks have an area that are less than receptive to the stain. I had sanded but these spots are more like glass. I can not simply replace and do an do over as I had just enough material for the project and don’t have any more available.
Since I took these pics I roughed up the area and managed to get a little more cover but still very light.
Is there some liquid that will open up the wood grain that I could use?
My next step would be to place the material horizontally and try staining again. Because right now the oil just has a tendency to drip down. Horizontally I could control the oil to a degree.
Any ideas?

 

[Farmer J.]

How about holding a damp cloth against the wood and then heating it with a hot clothes iron? The steam should open out and raise the grain.
I've done this a few times to relieve stains and damage to old timber.
Just an idea for something to try, other's will likely know better!

 

[Mintgrun]

That might be glue that came out of the joint. If so, you might have to sand fairly deep to get rid of it. Sometimes gel stains can do a better job of covering that oil stains.

 

[PCustoms]

That might be glue that came out of the joint. If so, you might have to sand fairly deep to get rid of it. Sometimes gel stains can do a better job of covering that oil stains.

Yep.

Can you cut 1/4" of each end? Would get rid of the funky radius in the corners....

 

[RTM]

Scraping might get rid of the glue easier than sanding. Also, a soldering gun w a flat tip can get you better control than a clothes iron.

End grain fir can be a bear to stain, prone to blotchy mess. There are a few articles about wood conditioners, shellac etc to even it out.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

How about holding a damp cloth against the wood and then heating it with a hot clothes iron? The steam should open out and raise the grain.
I've done this a few times to relieve stains and damage to old timber.
Just an idea for something to try, other's will likely know better!

I will give it a try. I have done this before and it worked well on a dent where the wood fibre wasn’t damaged. Thanks.
How do you copy the grey barn board on fresh cuts? I have been using cigarette ash Works pretty good.

That might be glue that came out of the joint. If so, you might have to sand fairly deep to get rid of it. Sometimes gel stains can do a better job of covering that oil stains.

I can guarantee it isn’t glue. I wiped up real well after gluing. I knew I didn’t want to deal that problem on top of trying to work with salvaged material.

Scraping might get rid of the glue easier than sanding. Also, a soldering gun w a flat tip can get you better control than a clothes iron.
End grain fir can be a bear to stain, prone to blotchy mess. There are a few articles about wood conditioners, shellac etc to even it out.

Like the soldering idea. I have an big headed old soldering iron that was used by my Grandfather likely for brazing.
The lumber is from Mexico it was part of a crate used for shipping stained glass. I had originally used the crates as it had a good collection of painted graphics which I used to make a headboard for one of our cabin’s bedrooms. I placed these pics on GJ likely in my cabin build.

Yep.

Can you cut 1/4" of each end? Would get rid of the funky radius in the corners....

I guess I just like funky. I liked the grain of the wood and could maximize this by rounding out the corner. You can simply see more of the wood grain. Cutting it back would never be an option due to the fact it is already fastened to the substructure. It will probably show more once I have done a few oil applications and a little burnishing.
If I had wanted a standard look I have a wack of oak that is left over from making my baseboards and door mouldings in my house. I had done all that custom probably 15 years ago.