I'll have to admit that I like the natural finish on Amish furniture.
I would try to remove the finish with denatured alcohol....that would be cheapest and easiest but will only work ig the finish is shellac....but it's likely that it is.
The other possibility would be laquer thinner....try mixing laquer thinner with shellac thinner...2/3 alcohol and 1/3 shellac thinner...brush it on let sit a very few minutes and wipe it off with paper towel.
When the piece is clean, lightly sand....then I would use a stain made by min wax called "special walnut".
Good luck!
Linda C

When staining darker I always use a refinisher over a stripper anyday. It's less harsh and Home Depot has a brand in with their paint thinners that's much less expensive than the name brands like Formby's and other's. It's not as smelly either.
There are also non-toxic strippers out there that I've yet to try, but will be one my next project since I'm trying to live a greener life.
You might ask over on the woodworkers forum too. They'd be much more knowledgable.

Here is a link that might be useful: Woodworking Forum

> 1. Can someone tell me if regular walnut stain will give me the dark walnut look typically found on antiques, or should I use something darker?

Walnut is one of the few woods that turns lighter in color, not darker, with exposure to light. So I am not sure what you mean by "darker found in antiques." And there is no such thing as "regular walnut" stain. Every manufacturer just labels and formulates their color palette with convenient names. Medium Walnut has absolutely no standard between vendors. That said, your choice of what you want it to look like is your own. Your choice of wood (already made as walnut) and top coat will also affect the resulting color, so don't rely on a sample board of oak & pine or the label. If you are concerned do a test of candidates.

> 2. What brand of stain is recommended for doing this on a budget?

So you are going to spend a month's worth of weekends and evenings doing this job and you're worried about saving $2-3 on a can of stain? Personally, I don't like most Minwax stains.

> 3. What brand and type stripper do you recommend?

You know what you put on there originally. If it's not lacquer or shellac, then go with a methylene chloride stripper. This will be most of what you find at the stores. Since this is a relatively heavy chemical, just pick up a few and choose the heaviest gallon.

If you used a ubiquitous polyurethane the first time around, the alcohol, lacquer thinner, and "restorers" will be much less effective. They only really work well on lacquer, the most common commercial furniture finish, and shellac.

> 4. There isn't much detail, but what is the best tool to use in crevices to remove the current finish?

I have a number of scraping tools, but an easy one you can make is a sharpen a dowel like a screwdriver and use that to pry out the sludge. Use a putty knife in the flat areas.

P.S. It is considered bad form (and against guidelines) to post the same question on multiple folders. For one thing, it makes any conversation hard to follow.

Sorry to be hard on you, but I'd rather have you stop and think about what you are doing than to end up with another job you don't like and due to all the work, just decide to live with it for another 15 years in regret.

Before you start, I'd recommend ordering or getting from your library, this book.

Here is a link that might be useful: Strippers