It is best not to try and use products outside the standard products used by hardwood flooring professionals. Not because they will always not work, but because the products designed for this industry are optimized to deal with the challenges of coloring and protecting hardwood floors based on decades to centuries of experience. For example large planks get large gaps in between, not because they expand or contract more, but the that expansion/contraction is distributed over fewer gaps, so the gaps in the winter of a 9" board will be 3 times the size of the gaps in a 3" board, possibly over 1/8" this is why 1.5"-3.25" are the typical widths installed. Even old growth, quartersawn boards will have similar problems only 10-20% less, still unsightly. Finish-wise there are considerations that are unique to the floor coating industry. Firstly floors take tons more abuse than furniture or cabinets so need more protection, as a result floor finishes are more durable than other finishes not intended for floor applications. Secondly stains designed for floors are designed to be taken evenly because you have one large continuous area that make any uneven-ness very noticeable. My recommendations are to use straight-grain yellow pine 3.25" inches wide, maybe 4" or 5" but that is really pushing it and coat with duraseal products. However if you really want a specialty finish look for Pallmann Magic Oil, it is a hybrid wax/catalyzed oil finish.

momj47 - My family would describe me as extremely cheap - ah, er, I mean frugal - rather than an "earthmother" (although I do own several pairs of Birkenstocks). I have a bevy of mills. The most important factor when it comes to milling grain is to use a mill that mills flour fine enough to make good bread/cake. There is more gluten available in fine flour. If all you get is a coarse flour, that's the kind of bread you'll get (short squat coarse loaves), and it will never mill flour fine enough for making delicate cakes. I'd always recommend an impact mill (Nutri Mill or Wonder Mill - formerly called the Whisper Mill). I have a very old Whisper Mill and would replace it with a Nutri Mill should it someday go to the broken-mill resting place. The Nutri Mill has a few more options not available on the Wonder Mill. I mill flour at least once or twice a week. Not only will it mill a large selection of grains/seeds/beans, but it does it quickly and is self-cleaning. The grain doesn't "grind" between stones or steel plates, it explodes into fine particles between high-speed stainless steel teeth that are very close together. With steel plates and stones (both natural and synthetic stones are used), bits and pieces of them can chip off - YUM! If the grain is too moist, they glaze over and you have to remove them and clean them (always keep an extra set of plates/stones). For tiny seeds/grains (amaranth, teff, etc., I use a manual Seed Mill. It can also be used for oily seeds like sesame, flax, and poppy. For grinding cornmeal, I have a Corona Corn Mill. I have a Marga Mulino Flaker Mill for making flakes, coarse flour and farina (I make multi-grain cereal blends with this, as well as flakes). As a back-up mill, I have a Family Grain Mill which can be used with electricity (special attachment) or by hand (should I be without electricity). You can also get a good assortment of attachments for this mill. It doesn't do really fine flour, and you need to pass the grain through, then pass the flour through again to get it fairly fine. Double processing is not an uncommon practice for hand mills. For anyone who thinks a hand-powered mill is the way to go, will soon find out you'll have to spend a lot of time getting enough flour for even one loaf of bread, and you'll probably have to recruit/bribe helpers. When you have to run it through the mill TWICE, you'll stand a good chance of not using it for very long. My first mill was a hand mill, and it was hubby who asked if these come electrified, and would I like to get one? My second mill, an electric Regal, I got from King Arthur Flour, and it only milled coarse flour. It was so loud I always wore earplugs using it, and made sure the kids were not around for fear it would damage their hearing. Even though the Whisper Mill is considerably quieter, I still wear earplugs when I mill. I get a large assortment of grains/seeds/beans for milling from all kinds of sources.... Free from friends/family who are wheat producers, local mills, mail-order (Bob's Red Mill, Heartland Mill in Marienthal, KS), and even Wal-Mart, who recently started carrying Wheat Montana wheat - 25# for $5 (regularly $11) - which is an excellent wheat, especially Prairie Gold, which is a hard spring white wheat variety - excellent for bread. As an aside... with only a few exceptions like King Arthur and Hodgson Mills, most commercial whole wheat flour is actually white flour with some of the bran raked back into it to make it "brown". The germ is removed (sometimes by law) to give the product a longer shelf life since the germ oil goes rancid very quickly. -Grainlady

"Acetone, toluene, and methanol are the basic ingredients of lacquer thinner. They are toxic and should be used in a well ventilated area." And some other hot solvents also, but these are the basics. Methanol is the most dangerous of the lot. It is easily absorbed through the skin and the body metabolizes it to formaldehyde. It preferentially damages the nerves in the retina. Acetone is the least harmful, with toluene not being very dangerous for short term exposure either. The biggest problem is they stink pretty badly. If the finish is actually lacquer you can probably just re-melt it by using an artist brush and some lacquer thinner. You will not use enough thinner to be a hazard. It will only take a few drops spread carefully on the finish and allowed to evaporate. It is unlikely you would be using more than ¼ teaspoon.

this is a gorgeous kitchen! More on India ink as stain: I've used it on furniture a lot. Be SURE you get permanent India ink. It has some shellac in it to make it more waterproof. It has amazing coverage. I have done an entire armchair frame with only an ounce or two. It's also very messy if you drip it, so wear old clothes and get some disposable latex gloves. It may raise the grain on some woods. Sand the wood smooth before applying it, then do a very light sanding after it's completely dry, if it feels at all rough. Apply a second coat if the sanding removes any of the color. The color is a warm black. It's opaque but the grain of the wood will show through, unlike with paint. It's a pretty unique finish. I have never used Waterlox over my ink finishes, since they were furniture. I think you do need something though--the finish doesn't seem to be super permanent even though the ink is labeled permanent. (That's more for when it's used on paper, not furniture or counters that get a lot of wear and tear.) I used beeswax on the furniture which seemed to seal the ink pretty well. I don't think I would use it on wooden chair seats, though. Too much risk of rubbing off on clothing down the road.