Carpentry and Woodworking - Stainable Wood Filler ??

hi all,
I've just finished building a wood surround for my fireplace, and I'm at the point where I want to start filling in the nail holes.

Now I've had problems in the past with wood fillers not taking stain. Does anyone know of a readily available wood filler that is actually "stainable". Or should I finish applying my stain, and then come back with colored wood putty or "crayons" to plug the holes?
Any suggestions?
thanks

They make wood fillers in all collors. Pick one close to your stain color and go.

I've had good luck filling the holes after I stain, but before I put on the finish. I use the "crayon" type fillers and match the color to the wood around the hole.

I also find that it's best to nail in the darker parts of the grain. Those holes seem easier to hide.

thanks for the advice.
I've built the surround out of poplar (most readily available). I wouldn't think I'd need a sanding sealer before staining, but I'm not sure. Anyone have any experience staining poplar? Does it take stain pretty evenly??

thanks again

Poplar stains ok. It's not as "blotchy" as birch or maple.

Because of the wide color variations in poplar (white, creamy, brown, green, and black), most people don't stain it. Since it takes paint beautifully, I use it for paint grade projects.

The few times I've stained it, I spent quite a bit of time selecting boards to minimize the color variation.

Do a few pieces of scrap wood with and without the sanding sealer to decide which way to do your surround.

thanks again.

I don't care how many wood fillers someone buys, it will never match as well as a wax fill stick. You can buy them from a local Woodworking supplier or go to www.rockler.com

Wax sticks are to be used "After" you put your stain and finish on. You wipe it on, then clean the excess off with mineral spirits and a T-Shirt rag. Wait at least 24 hours after the finish has dried before you try to do this.

I have stained a half dozen pieces of Poplar furniture that I made.

I have had great results wiping down the bare wood with a cloth that has been dampened with mineral spirits. Wait a few minutes, and then stain with an oil based stain. (I usually use Min-Wax because its readily available near me). Note this method does lighten the color somewhat, so pick a darker that desired shade, or count on applying 3+ coats.

I am no expert, but I haven't seen any noticable blotches and friends that have seen the furniture rave about it.

Note: as one of of the posts stated, there is a lot of color variation. So, count on spending a little exta time digging through the wood pile.

Hope this helps.

Steve? Why not use the Minwax "Pre-Conditioner"?

It helps in the process of trying to prevent all of the blotching. The only way to totally elminate any kind of blotching on any type of wood is to use Anile-n-dyes, but as a home owner, I wouldn't suggest you even try. You need to be VERY GOOD with colors. i.e. knowing that if a piece of wood ends up being too red with the stain you applied, how to tone the red down.

Sorry, I didn't mean to take this down a different track than Wingnuts original question.

I have always wondered if the pre-conditioner works better/worse than the method I described.... To be honest, the mineral spirits conditioning was suggested by a friend. I used it on one of the first furniture pieces that I made, had fairly good results and have used it since. Also all the pieces went into one room (desk, book shelves, ent. center, etc.) so right or wrong I wanted them to match.

To say that I am set in my ways would imply a wealth of experience.... It would probably be better put, that I found something that works and am too #%*@ scared to change.

Looks like I need to grab a few scrap pieces and experiment before I start the next project.

People who swear by using Mineral spirits during the finish process, are only asking for trouble. The "Oils" in the Mineral Spirits can have an effect on the way the finish turns out, if you're using Lacquer primarily. It would be like putting Oil and water together