It's hot, humid and I'm in my underwear.   Must be time to stain something.  This piece took me 21 years to get it right.   This is one of the first piece of furniture the High Priestess and I bought when we first moved to IOWA.  It cam from a craftsman who had a shop called "The Loading Dock".  The man was an ex-grad student with a PhD. in Science Education, or at least that's what he said.  I should have seen that as an omen.  The chest of drawers was always going to be stained, but we could never agree on a color.  The HP wanted it to match our furniture, but at the time all we had was the random collection of odds and ends most couple and recently graduated students would have.   There was nothing to match.  Even now the bedroom furniture shades are just a little off.  The Nightstand tables match the bed, but the other chest of drawers (mine) comes from somewhere else.

The piece was already sanded and ready for whatever, but we just couldn't decided.  Personally I think the HP was convienced I would fuck it up and it took her 20 years before she trusted me enough with a brush.  She may have been right.  I've learned quite a deal from my other projects.  For you staining you need patience, time, hot weather, and underwear....lots and lots of underwear.

My technique is always the same: sand to open the wood, pre-conditioner helps the wood take the stain deep into the wood, three light coats of stain, then three coats of polyurethane.  The can of stain always say to wipe away the excess stain, but I find it work better if you use very little stain on the brush and work it into the wood until the brush it almost dry.  Let the piece sit for 3 to 6 hours to dry (NOT IN THE SUN), before adding another coat.  Keep repeating until you have the shade you want.  I always do at least two coats, because the first coat never quite takes evenly due to the difference in the wood itself.

The same goes for the polyurethane coats as well, but I don't brush until dry.  You should have enough on the brush so it flows evenly over the wood but does not run or drip.  You may need a very light touch on the side because gravity will make the coating try to run.  The coat should be thin enough so you can see the brush stroke trails as the poly goes on, but the track should disappear after 15 - 30 second after the stroke.  Let the coat dry completely, at least eight hours.  (Never let it dry in direct sunlight!)  The wood should have hard candy like coating.  Lightly sand with 220 grit sandpaper to remove uneven brushstrokes.  You should have a fine white dust that can brush wiped away easily, as if you were dusting a piece of furniture.  Now you should apply the second coat.  Following the same steps for the first.  afterward you should feel a smooth surface under your fingertips.  The surface should not snag or pull on a soft cloth if brushed over it.  You can stop here, but I always add a third coat.

Some side tips now:  Always use natural hair brushes.  Clean your brushes well after you are done, but don't expect the brush you used for poly to ever get clean.  You may use it for crappy jobs again, but next time you need to work on a show piece BUY A NEW BRUSH!  After cleaning your brushes or if you have to step away for short awhile (having to run to the store or something) wrap your brushes in plastic bags.  Make sure there is very little air in the bag and it's air tight.  This keeps your brushes nice and fresh.

The original piece didn't have handles.  You could open the drawers by pulling on the end of each drawer.  However that always annoyed the HP and it's her chest of drawers anyway.  Handles are highway robbery at any DIYS place: Lowe's, Menard's, Home Depot, etc...   I found mine at  Restore for fifty cent each.  The HP and I also found a lovely dining room set for a steal, but that another story.

I redid the handle in the same cherry wood stain I used on the dresser.  I think they came out great.  How does one add handles and make sure they are centered?  I find a great website for that.  Drilling Guide for Drawer Pulls

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