Quote Originally Posted by bighit View Post
I dont think they stain/dye them. almost always varnished/lacquered as its cheaper and quicker.
exactly... theres no denying that beech is cheaper and less attractive than walnut., and it doesnt respond as well to treatments that beautify harder woods.
Manufacturers know this and use the best, most cost effective finish... a nice thick brown lacquer! Think of old Webleys and BSAs - I love that chestnutty brown of an 80s Webley!!

in the video the OP posted, it shows the wood still having dye in it and the lad uses bleach to lighten it, I think whats happened here is he just hasnt removed all of the original varnish. If Im stripping a stock I just use a stanley blade and shave the varnish off right down to the wood - the benefits of doing it this way are many - theres no chemicals, you dont wet the wood and raise the grain, theres minimal sanding to prep for the new finish, its cleaner and I can do a full stock in about an hour... the only downsides are, its tricky to get into the nooks and crannies (I use good aluminium oxide paper for these), and you still have to use some stripper on any checkering.

walnut rules!!!