Thread: The Lighting is even

Wow - that's a lot of difference! Is the fumed board on the left hand side (sorry, I've never worked with oak or seen it closely in it's natural state)

cheers
Wendy

This is a really good example......Fuming has worked.

More info required!
What strength ammonia...where did you get it.....how long did you fume???
And lastly, what's your Mum's maiden name and her PIN number??? (just Joking)
Looks good.

The natural white oak is on the left while the fumed is on the right.

The ammonia is Aqueous Ammonia or 26° be (Baume) or more commonly known as blue print ammonia for an Ozalid process or machine. Most blue print supply stores sell the stuff by the gallon. (Umm almost 4 L) Here it costs $15 per gallon.

I put the oak in a plastic tent and then pour about 250ml into a glass baking dish and then put the dish into the tent. The tent needs to be sealed completely. (Duct tape works reasonably well to seal the tent.) An open bottle of swimming pool acid (Muriatic or HCl) held near the seams of the tent help find the leaks.

Leave the oak in the fumes for 24 to 48 hours. The process is a chemical reaction so once the process is complete the oak will not get any darker. I estimate that the darkening process goes about 3mm into the oak.

To clean up, I just dump the ammonia on the ground and spray with water from the hose. Ammonia has an affinity for water. About 10-12L of water is more than enough. The remaining fumes just disapate like household ammonia.

It will take 3-4 days for all the ammonia fumes to seep out of the oak. Then the oak can be finished.

I usually finish the fumed oak with a curing oil like Boiled Linseed Oil or the US brand Minwax Antique Oil Finish. Two coats of oil about a day apart and then usually polyurethane for the final finish.

Thanks for the info Rich.

Originally Posted by rufflyrustic

Wow - that's a lot of difference! Is the fumed board on the left hand side (sorry, I've never worked with oak or seen it closely in it's natural state)
cheers
Wendy

The fumed board is on the right Wendy

Excuse my ignorance Rich, but I have never heard of this process before and have a few questions:

1. You mention that the oak won't get any darker - is that the reason for fuming it? i.e. to set the colour of the oak to what you want.

2. This relates to 1 - how long does the colour last and how hard wearing is it?

3. Does it work with other timbers?

4. How is the pool acid used to detect leaks?

Thanks.

No Way!!!! I was sure the RHS piece was the original!!! Good thing I didn't say that and shown how totally ignorant of Oak I am


Cheers
Wendy

PS Excellent questions VernonV

Originally Posted by Vernonv

1. You mention that the oak won't get any darker - is that the reason for fuming it? i.e. to set the colour of the oak to what you want.

SWMBO likes a darker colour of furniture. I'm of the male gender and am genetically unable to select colour.

Originally Posted by Vernonv

2. This relates to 1 - how long does the colour last and how hard wearing is it?

As I understand it, the colour is permanent. I've been told that it doesn't fade even in sunlight. I built a table that is in the afternoon sun and it has not faded over the last two years.

Originally Posted by Vernonv

3. Does it work with other timbers?

The nature of the chemical reaction is that it reacts with a high content tannin wood. I tested it with black walnut, poplar, maple and mahogany. I didn't notice any significant colour changes on any species except red oak and white oak.

Originally Posted by Vernonv

4. How is the pool acid used to detect leaks?

The HCl (Muriatic) acid fumes will turn to a white smoke (Ammonium Chloride) indicating the presence of an Ammonia leak. When you hold the open bottle of acid near the leak, the acid fumes turn to a visible white smoke.

Thanks Rich, that clarifies things.
It's an intriguing process.
Now I'll have to think of an excuse to try it out.

Originally Posted by rrich

.
The nature of the chemical reaction is that it reacts with a high content tannin wood. I tested it with black walnut, poplar, maple and mahogany. I didn't notice any significant colour changes on any species except red oak and white oak

Apparently this process only works with oak.Thats what I have always been told.