I did a test piece of some oak with cognac stain, since they were out of the black cherry, and the color seems fine, just have to deal with the pronounced grain. I stained one piece today without any sealer or conditioner
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Gonna try the next few samples with unwaxed shellac or conditioner, and maybe a gel....oak is oak, so it will never be clear, but a little more uniformity may be nice....QS white oak would be better, but its not in the cards for this build.