Stain before carving... So what could go wrong ?

I waited an extra 6 months to get an extra fancy grade stock for my Chambers Smooth Rifle build.
I plan on doing a little bit of carving and wire inlay (not too much, I want the wood to be the star here) but I want it to flow with, and accentuate, the patterns in the grain. To make that happen I figure it would help to sand it down and do the stain first so I can best see the patterns, before doing the carving and wire.
I might have to touch up the stain a bit here and there before doing the finish coats.
I plan on using Kiblers tannic acid and iron nitrate products.

Is there anything about this process I should be aware of, any surprises, any issues I haven't thought of, or is it pretty much boilerplate ?
I'm worried that I'm overlooking something obvious.

Traditional carving is done according to rococo or baroque style (with some regional differences), not according to grain or figure in the wood.

However, if you are doing a more nontraditional piece, do what pleases you.

Stain doesn't necessarily go deep into the grain, so if you stain before carving you will likely have to stain again to blend the carving back in.

Either way, practice on some scrap wood before cutting on your expensive wood.

rchas said:

Traditional carving is done according to rococo or baroque style (with some regional differences), not according to grain or figure in the wood.
However, if you are doing a more nontraditional piece, do what pleases you.

Click to expand...

I don't follow the same path that everyone else follows, so far that's worked out pretty well.

I'm worried about the edges of the carvings picking up too much color if I need to retouch - should I be?

Wetting the wood with mineral spirits will highlight the grain pattern in your wood without leaving anything in the grain that might present a problem with future finishing.

Hi,
Look at this thread. Best to read all of the parts about staining, carving, silver wire, and finishing.
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/kibler-kit-assembly-and-carving.133549/page-4

Doing just a little silver wire inlay is like playing "where's Waldo?" because the effect is so obscure it requires a search to find it. Wire inlay is easy to do so there is no reason not to make it have a bold effect. The problem for most folks is they have a hard time thinking up and drawing good effective designs on the wood. The actual wire part is pretty easy.

dave