Recently, my work has included a pair of mission style chimney cabinets (in quarter-sawn white oak), which will reside on either side of a mission style sideboard, built about twenty years ago. The construction of the cabinets is nearly complete, save for the door pulls. Next, I will begin the five-step finishing process.

Here are some images of the process, beginning with the raw planks.

MORE TO COME! 🙂

Following the application of a reddish-brown dye to the raw oak, a walnut gel stain is applied.

The door on the left has the reddish brown dye only; the one on the right has the dye, plus the walnut gel stain.

The final step in the finishing process involves adding multiple coats of an oil wax. In this case, I chose to use Osmo brand. It is very user-friendly, with beautiful results!

Once the Osmo wax process has been completed, the final step is the addition of door pulls. For small details, my go-to lumber choice has often been ebony. The dramatic impact of “jet black” color against nearly ANY lumber color, texture, or grain pattern, is nearly always appealing. 🙂

At last, the set is complete: Mission dining table (Stickley, pre-1920), sideboard (2003), and chimney cabinets (2024).

Postscriptum:
This is a top view of the Stickley table. Whoever built it took great care to make the grain patterns of the various planks compliment one another in a most beautiful manner!