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Ad de Crom
1st November 2008, 11:43 PM
Spend last week with ebonizing wood after reading an article on my Dutch forum.
I know it is possible, but till now I don't gave it any attention, untill I read that article.
First I turned a 200mm pine bowl, nothing for the showroom but only for a try out.
Anyway I always can use that bowl for my workshop for sanding paper or something else. I made a brew of vinegar with steel wool, and let stand it for four days.
And to add tannine to the pine I gave the bowl first a treatment with strong tea.
So here are the results, from L to R.
First pic. pine bowl
Second pic. after the treatment with strong tea
Thirth pic. after the fist treatment with the brew of vinegar with steel wool.
The last pic. after the second treatment.
When I had used white oak the results would be much better.
An other option is to buy leather dye in a shoe shop, but this cost nothing at all so a very cheap idea to make something black.
Anyway I had a fun time.
Cheers. Ad :D

joe greiner
2nd November 2008, 07:09 AM
Well done, Ad. The first treatment by itself could be a new process for not completely ebonizing - very handsome.

I've heard India Ink is also useful for ebonizing, maybe darker in one shot. Manual drafting supplies are getting scarce, of course; along with lots of other stuff. On a shopping expedition today, I remarked to a clerk, "It seems you can't buy a watch nowadays without photographic capabilities.":D

Joe

wheelinround
2nd November 2008, 07:57 AM
Well done Ad I have played with vinegar before more by accident really never used the steel wool in it will give it a go:2tsup:

Joe wonder if replacment ink for Inkjet's will work not just the black CMYK also

Simomatra
2nd November 2008, 09:07 AM
Nice work Ad, I must give that a try. Currently I am using the Ebonising fluid from here and it is only $5:2tsup:

http://www.newagemultimedia.com/woodwork/index.html

http://www.newagemultimedia.com/woodwork/images/P9290017.jpg

Ad de Crom
2nd November 2008, 10:10 AM
Well done, Ad. The first treatment by itself could be a new process for not completely ebonizing - very handsome.

I've heard India Ink is also useful for ebonizing, maybe darker in one shot. Manual drafting supplies are getting scarce, of course; along with lots of other stuff. On a shopping expedition today, I remarked to a clerk, "It seems you can't buy a watch nowadays without photographic capabilities.":D

Joe

India ink, or leather dye which my lady penfriend Pam Reilly use for her mosaic hollow forms.
But vinegar with rusty nails works too. btw. nice talk to the clerk.
Was just a play around Joe.
Have a nice weekend. Ad

Manuka Jock
2nd November 2008, 10:32 AM
Ad ,

I like the tea dye one best .
It reminds me of a few years ago when I refurbished 30 Taiaha (Maori long swords) for the local Army KapaHaka group that I was in .
This involved a bit of reshaping , due to the fact that they looked like rowing oars rather than fighting weapons.
Being as how they were essentially 'stage props' , made of pinus , rather than a native hardwood , they had been done a dark brown with stained polyurethane gloss .
After reshaping , and sanding back to the bare wood , I soaked them , 3 at a time , in a dyebath made from a length of plastic spouting , capped at both ends ( weighed down a a couple of rocks ).
The dye was a natural fiber one , favored by spinners and weavers.
I bought two different shades , and mixed a third , from a bit of each , thus having 3 batches of brown dye shades .
After a 24 hour soaking , of each lot of 3 , I left one to dry as is , wiped the second down to remove the excess , and rinsed the third down in the shower .
That gave me 9 different shades of dark hardwood colours , and after allowing a good coat of olive oil to soak in , they came up looking like the real mccoy .
I have used this method once or twice since , mainly for matching finishing timber in renovations . Not for turned items tho , yet .

I would suggest trying this method with other colours too . My experience is that the soaking gives a far better depth and cover than a wipe on stain .

rsser
2nd November 2008, 01:47 PM
Pine is not the best for staining (at least Radiata Pine).

English Ash is a good one to play with: scorch with blow torch, wire brush loose ash off and finish with shellac. You get a near-black colour with exaggerated grain.

You also get cracks ... but it's rustic right?

Slow6
2nd November 2008, 07:46 PM
The vinegar and steel wool trick can work well but once applied it really benefits from some exposure to the sun.
I only found this out after I tossed the test piece out the window in disgust! a couple of hours in the sun it was pitch black. I was using rosewood at the time.

tea lady
2nd November 2008, 08:35 PM
The vinegar and steel wool trick can work well but once applied it really benefits from some exposure to the sun.
I only found this out after I tossed the test piece out the window in disgust! a couple of hours in the sun it was pitch black. I was using rosewood at the time.
A couple of hours anywhere seem too let it develope or something. Wipe it on quite thick. Wipe it off later. :cool:

Ad de Crom
2nd November 2008, 08:50 PM
Ad ,

I like the tea dye one best .
It reminds me of a few years ago when I refurbished 30 Taiaha (Maori long swords) for the local Army KapaHaka group that I was in .
This involved a bit of reshaping , due to the fact that they looked like rowing oars rather than fighting weapons.
Being as how they were essentially 'stage props' , made of pinus , rather than a native hardwood , they had been done a dark brown with stained polyurethane gloss .
After reshaping , and sanding back to the bare wood , I soaked them , 3 at a time , in a dyebath made from a length of plastic spouting , capped at both ends ( weighed down a a couple of rocks ).
The dye was a natural fiber one , favored by spinners and weavers.
I bought two different shades , and mixed a third , from a bit of each , thus having 3 batches of brown dye shades .
After a 24 hour soaking , of each lot of 3 , I left one to dry as is , wiped the second down to remove the excess , and rinsed the third down in the shower .
That gave me 9 different shades of dark hardwood colours , and after allowing a good coat of olive oil to soak in , they came up looking like the real mccoy .
I have used this method once or twice since , mainly for matching finishing timber in renovations . Not for turned items tho , yet .

I would suggest trying this method with other colours too . My experience is that the soaking gives a far better depth and cover than a wipe on stain .

Sometimes I made handturned translucent lamp shades, if I have the right wood of course. I keep your suggestion in my mind.
Thanks. Ad

Ad de Crom
2nd November 2008, 08:55 PM
Pine is not the best for staining (at least Radiata Pine).

English Ash is a good one to play with: scorch with blow torch, wire brush loose ash off and finish with shellac. You get a near-black colour with exaggerated grain.

You also get cracks ... but it's rustic right?

You are so right rsser, I knew that, it was just a playing around of me, of course a nice playing around, for sure when you never did that before.
I see it as a learning process, knowing that there are a lot more possibility's.
Thanks. Ad

Ad de Crom
2nd November 2008, 08:57 PM
The vinegar and steel wool trick can work well but once applied it really benefits from some exposure to the sun.
I only found this out after I tossed the test piece out the window in disgust! a couple of hours in the sun it was pitch black. I was using rosewood at the time.

Very good to know.
Thanks, Ad

orificiam
2nd November 2008, 09:20 PM
Very good result Ad. I like the finished piece
but best of all I like the Shape of the bowl.
cheers Tony.