Thread: accidental ebonising ??

I don't have a clue as to what happened, but the bowls look great. Very much like American Black Walnut. Iron oxide, rust, will make Oak turn black.

Cheers Paul....i have tried ebonising before and have used a home made solution from fines from around the grinder from sharpening tools...but not this time....i was just trying to sand without the dust..unexpected result. The darkness has mellowed a little, but not much.

Originally Posted by Paul39

I don't have a clue as to what happened, but the bowls look great. Very much like American Black Walnut. Iron oxide, rust, will make Oak turn black.

Not quite sure what happened either but perhaps dust from the dark part has filled the pores in the grain from the lighter part due to the oil sanding.
Regards
John

It's also possible the "bland" part was faster growth, with more open grain/pores, consequently sucking up more of the oil.

I use Tung Oil for almost everything and have been disappointed when some soft lighter woods have turned dark. Probably becaause of sucking up more oil.

Bowls look great but i doesn't look like ebonizing to me, ebonizing is much darker than what's showing on the bowls. I'd say it's just the interaction of the oil with that particular timber as oils are notorious for darkening most timbers. If you want to retain lighter colours you could try using a wax instead of an oil.

Thanks Bob. Not too worried about the darkening of the wood, just wan to understand it so I can predict it a bit better...ta