A slight learning curve

I recently found a great deal on laser-friendly wood from online retailer Craft Closet. It was a 14-sheet sampler pack of 12” x 19” unfinished wood in 7 different varieties. Great looking wood and I was very excited to get it for a very inexpensive price. Did I mention that it was “unfinished”? Somehow this fact seemed to escape me during the check-out process but became a real issue when I started thinking about what to create.

Since I’ve never worked with unfinished wood, I called my cousin who has much more experience with woodworking. He was a great help with tips and information and I started to feel a bit better about my situation. After a quick trip to Home Depot I found myself in the garage with a can of natural stain and some water-based polyurethane. It took some trial and error, but I think I’m getting the hang of it now. The first pass turned out very nice and I’m looking forward to working with it. The attached picture is a before and after look at two pieces of African Mahogany. I kinda like the way it turned out and can’t wait to decide what I should create.