I'm building a shelf unit. It's a box about five feet long, one foot
high, one foot deep, with couple of uprights separating it into three
sections. It's made out of oak plywood. I'll be adding a face frame of
oak 1 x 2. I'm no genius at woodworking, but I did a pretty good job
with it, so far. However, I've had less than inspiring results in the
past with the finishing part of a project.

I have 2 questions.

1. I had some furniture made that has a "Cordova" stain, a very dark
reddish, purplish brown. I haven't been able to replicate that color
with the stains I've been able to find. I think it's possible that I
need to leave the stain on longer to get a darker color, but I'm not
sure. The instructions suggested maybe 10 minutes. The color with the
excess stain sitting on the wood seems pretty good, but wiping off the
"excess" leaves a much milder color. I beilieve the stain is called
Minwax Red Mahogany. I don't expect to perfectly match the other
furniture, but I'd like a very dark color.

2. I did a few test pieces with various stains and finishes. With
different products, different woods and different brushes I've gotten
"bubbles". They form immediately as I brush the polyurethane on, and
seem to continue forming over the space of a few minutes. They are
pretty tiny, a 16th of an inch in diameter, but they ruin the finish.
Is this a known problem? Is it air, or something else escaping from
the wood? Is there some tratment I should use before the poly to avoid
the bubbles?

Thanks in advance.

Greg Guarino