I've been experimenting again with different finishes and I read in a book that you can make your own finish for oak by mixing vinegar with iron of some sort (I used iron wool and a jam jar full of malt vinegar). 
I put this mixture together three weeks ago and I decided it was time to test it out. On a piece of oak I arboteched out I could see the oak change colour slowly in front of my eyes, it ends up almost being a petroleum blue - a really amazing colour.
I then experimented further by turning a strip of oak and leaving the middle its natural colour (finished with shellac) and texturing the rest, then adding the stain and rubbing on a light covering of liming wax, this gave it a nice contrast. In the end I textured it again after I added the liming wax and applied more of the stain as it only reacts with the bare oak and could fill in the gaps. 
Does anyone else have recipes for stains and finishes I can try? I've really enjoyed this experiment and I can see me using it in my future work.
Interesting!
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