Removal of woodstain

[maltaron]

I have a set of small tables with intricate turned legs. I believe that the timber is beech but it has been stained and varnished. The finish is very tired and I would like to return it to clean timber. The varnish removes easily with paint stripper but the stain is proving a problem. Is there any way to remove the stain other than sanding, which would be impractical due the complexity of the moulding.

TIA

 

[misterhelpful]

A wood bleaching kit can usually do the job of 'removing' dyes/stains, but they often leave the wood 'dulled' - kind of fibrous looking, akin to having it dipped. This means sanding well to smooth it nicely, which can be done with wire wool/nylon sanding pads/fine sandpaper. After bleaching, the wood will need to be neutralised before the sanding.
Two part bleaching kits work best but need to be used carefully due to the chemicals involved (hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydroxide) and leave the wood very light (maybe too light in some instances). Over here, even diluted Clorox (household chlorine bleach) is used by some of the pros I work with to lighten wood pretty well (again, care is needed).
Oxalic acid can remove staining, and is one of the ingredients in many wood bleaching kits, but in it's raw form is best for smaller rust, ink and water stains on wood.