ebonizing maple

Gaboon or Macassar? Where do you live? May be able to work a trade. Volume-based, of course ;-)

Jc

In that case, keep your eyes open for a copy of Sam Allen's "Classic Finishing Techniques"

Thu, Jan 17, 2008, 4:11am (EST+5) snipped-for-privacy@snet.net (Edwin=A0Pawlowski) doth query: I've seen that asked here a few time. I have the opposite problem. I have 50 bd. ft. of ebony and want a light colored wood instead. Can I mapleize the ebony? Will maple stain work? Bleach?

Nope, a maple finish doesn't work well on ebony at all. Ash works very well on ebony tho. Try it, you'll be amazed at how many people will admire your ash.

JOAT

- Bumper Sticker I don't have a problem with a woman president - just not Hillary.

I think the most controllable method would be to fume your ebony with milk. Probably 2% for maple, although if you want to go all the way to a holly color you'll have to risk using concentrated skim. As always, remember shop safety and wear adequate nose protection.

PDX David

"India Ink" is too general a term for dark black, waterproof ink. What you may want to look for is a black "drafting ink". WAAAAY back in The Old Days (Daze?) - "drafting" was done with inking pens and ink - on vellum. Special inking pens were invented for "drawing" consistent line widths that used a small metal tube through which the ink would flow when the tip of the tube contacted the vellum. A small, weighted, wire whose diameter with slightly smaller than the ID of the metal tube would limit the amount of flowing ink - and help keep the inside of the tube clean since the "drafting ink" had a high solids content (very finely ground pigment) in a fast drying clear liquid. (You can still get Rapid-O-Graph inking pens - but the fine line one's are E X - phreakin' - P E N S I V E these days.

Design Higgins WaterProof Drawing Ink 4415 "For use with all art and drafting instruments and brushes. Superb for transparent washes. . . . Not launderproof"

I asked a knowledgeable sales person of an arts supply store what he thought was the best ink for "ebonizing" light colored woods. He walked right to the drawing ink specified above. NOT "invexpensive" - 26 milliliters /cc for about $4 - but a little goes a long ways.

Here's a link to a closeup of a sample - on maple.

Tell me about it.

Spent almost a year bent over a drafting board "inking" drawings as part of a co-op education program.

Didn't have fancy pens to do the job either, simply a split tip pen that you adjusted line width with a thumb screw and filled with an eye dropper from the India ink bottle.

Buy that time, ink drawings were pretty much a relic in general industry; however, if nothing else, it taught you patience.

Lew

Wow! Thanks for the info and the photo Charlie.

Gratefully,

Joe C.

No problem Joe. Bought this stuff to ebonize some maple finials I'm doing for next year's christmas ornaments. Your question got me to actually check it out on a Two Arcs sample I'd done while playing with Multi Axis ideas Barbara Dill's article on the subject in the Fall 07 American Woodturner magazine. Surprisingly, the results are very similar to what I got with black felt tip pens - though being able to brush it on will lt me get into tight spots a felt tip couldn't reach.

Unlike felt tips, this ink raises the grain just a little, producing a matt finish - the felt tip being more like satin/semi-gloss. May use ink on some african blackwood stuff and maybe walnut as well.

Thanks for the incentive to get off my ass and try the stuff out.

charlie b

That's exactly the stuff I get that works.

I won't mention the stuff that didn't.

Boy, that brought back memories, charlie. I spent many hours bent over a drafting desk in my younger days. *Somewhere* in all my stuff I still have a set of Kohinor (sp?) Rapid-o-graph pens. On my drafting desk, I've got a pair of K&E Leroy lettering "bugs" with pens and several lettering guides. I found dried up bottles of Higgins Black India ink and some not-yet-dead bottles of Windsor and Newton colored inks (I used the colored inks for airbrush art). I found the case to my Dietzgen compass set, but it was empty (pencil and inking set). Gotta do a SERIOUS clean-up this Spring!

More to the topic - I tried the vinegar and steel wool method this weekend on maple. It made the wood wet and smell kinda nice, but no staining.

I used Bob Flexner's method on some oak. (I am finishing the pieces at this moment). He calls for black aniline dye followed by black pigment stain. I used both and these pieces are VERY black. The test pieces that I did look really good when I clear coated them.

SteveP.

Thu, Jan 24, 2008, 5:11pm (EST+5) snipped-for-privacy@frontiernetnospam.net (Highland=A0Pairos) doth sayeth: I used Bob Flexner's method on some oak. (I am finishing the pieces at this moment). He calls for black aniline dye followed by black pigment stain. I used both and these pieces are VERY black. The test pieces that I did look really good when I clear coated them.

I've been trying various colors for my chess set. Thinned latex paint does quite nice, especially considering it was on plywood. I think it could look even better with a bit of experimenting, especially with different woods. Coffee worked very nicely, makes a very nice color, except it takes a lonnnng time to try, like about 3 weeks. I'd like to fine some black Turtle Wax shoepolish to try, the neutral does very nice; however, apparently they don't make it any more, all I find is Kiwi, and it doesn't do well on wood at all. Personally I would think neutral would look best on turtles.

JOAT

- Bumper Sticker I don't have a problem with a woman president - just not Hillary.

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net (J T) wrote in news:6983-4798D404-241@storefull-

I've found Kool-Aid and other colored drink mixes provide vivid and sometimes permanent stains on wood (sometime not deliberately !). They are soluable in alcohol which will raise the grain less.