We sent some information directly to this customer and we are sending him a replacement board. However, here is some helpful information for other customers who might be thinking of ordering pine wood for their beds:
Due to the characteristics of pine, which is classified as a soft wood, the stain soaks into the areas between the grain but not the grain itself. Since the wide boards are by necessity cut from the center of the tree the rings tend to be larger and more prominent on the wide boards making it more likely that it will not take the stain as well.
We will be posting this additional information on our website and making our salespeople aware so we can better inform our customers. It is our recommendation that pine should either be painted (as was the original wood beds) or finished with clear coat, rather than stained. And, for show quality beds we recommend using oak as the grain is tighter and more uniform.
You can see more information on bed wood finishes and about how well the painted boards withstand the test of time at our website. Go to the following link:
http://www.mar-k.com/wood_finish_testing_ii.html
Thanks so much for letting us post!