I've bought a few wooden plaques from Michael's Arts and Crafts to use as diorama bases. They look nice, but I have a few concerns- wonder if anyone has some suggestions.
They are made of pine, a soft wood. On many of them, the routed side that goes against the grain is 'burred and fuzzy' (sorry, that's the best way I can describe it). Using a high grit sandpaper will get this down, but now there is a problem with staining. The routed side that goes against the grain absorbs the stain much quicker than the side that is cut with the grain- resulting in a 'two-toned' base. The sides that are against the grain are much darker than than the sides cut along the grain.

So, one option is to just paint the base, problem solved. But, if I want a nice stained base-- is there anything I can do with these pine plaques? Or should I just go with a hardwood plaque that will finish up alot nicer?

thanks,
Peter

Peter, I have been using those same exact plaques for my bases for a very long time now. I know what you mean about the sides being fuzzy and going against the grain, however I don't usually have any problems with two-tones. If I feel that a part of my base is too light I apply a bit more stain to it. If on the other hand I think that something is too dark I wipe some stain off. Just a side-note; I use a water based stain so wiping it off is quite easy.

Softwoods tend to absorb stains at different rates within the same piece of wood. Most carpenters like to use a "sanding sealer" before they stain a softwood. Another option is to use a gel based stain that is somewhat harder for the wood to absorb. You can then monitor the absorption and re-stain where needed. Personally, I paint the edges of these boards, so I don't have this problem. :-) :-)