I have an older maple floor in a house I am renovating and although I've
been advised (and have seen your recomendation to not stain maple
flooring) I think it may actually add to the overall look & patina that
I'm trying to achieve however I haven't actually seen a large finished
area of stained maple flooring (in something like a medium-dark "warm
walnut" coloring), do you know where I might be able to see what it
looks like and either decide that it is the look I want or if I will be
unhappy with the outcome as per your recommendation? Finally do you
know of any varnishes or finishes that are tinted that would achieve a
darkening effect without staining?

Thanks,
Matthew

Try gel stains or dying the floor when it comes to maple... Waterpopping and conditioners are pointless IMO. You could tint the finish with trans tint dyes.. but you wont get a really deep color..
Here is an after pic of a maple job I stained over the winter. It was Early American by Minwax I believe. I sanded to 100 grit on the Belt machine..Then water popped it... waited over night.. then stained it up. Don't look at the water marks on the left side.. (they were too cheap to fix em)..
http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii2/ ... %20repair/

Hey Pasquale, seems a damn shame to try and do a decent finishing job only to have it look like crap cause the home-owner refused to let ya repair the floor first.
I will walk from a situation like that, if only to protect my reputation.
Dont want Susie (my generic customer) saying I left her floors like that.

I understand. I'm surrounded by 100 year old homes most of which have pet stains.