Charlie, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Minwax puts out a small brochure with pictures of their various stains on oak, probably red oak. Your ash will finish more like white oak but that should still be pretty close.
The bad news is that I have yet to get a Minwax stain to look much like the pictures they show. The colors never are as intense. My favorite stains for oak are Minwax Golden Oak and Red Oak. I sometimes add a little Red Mahogany to Red Oak if I really do want the red to be more intense.
I do suggest that you run some tests on samples of your ash to see what the actual color will be. What color you choose is more of a decorating and design decision since you have so many choices. Then ask your wife or significant other. You will have plenty of drops from your skirt board to experiment with. Remember that the color will darken with your clear finish so after the stain has dried, either put a coat of finish on it or wipe on some mineral spirits as this will approximate the look after finishing.
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