ebonizing wood

C

cornpone64

New member
heres a trick that you fellers can use to make wood black. each kind of wood has a different look, simply mix vinegar and fine steel wool together..let it set for a while, stain your finished item with the mixture, i use it i on my intarsia stuff if i need a black wood. every time you toot your call, you'l' think yer eatin a pickle====i reckon
 
does the vinegar smell go away!? do you coat it with poly or wax afterwards? i asked this guy about coyotes in the area one time and he said he'd seen a few and if i wanted to go "toot on my whistle," /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif there were a couple farms down the road i could go to. i didn't have any whistles on me and i certainly don't "toot" anything. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif that's a great word. TOOOOOOOOT! nothing against you saying it i just find it amusing!
 
you treat it just like you would any other stain. cover with what ever. the smell of vinegar goes away. on the subject of using a call, toot does seem a little ".girlie man ",
 
Now buddy, ya aren't gonna mention doing intarsia without sharing any pictures, are ya? We wood hacks gotta see what you real wood workers are making.
 
im trying to figger out this #$#@ camera ! then gonna put'em on the site. found something else about exotic wood,, a lot of it will change color or darken after a time, i made a redbird in dogwood blossoms, now he is a black bird!! im trying to find a board or two of Holly, its pure white, about the vinegar, any of it will do, dont forget to experiment a little before using it on the main piece.
 
About 20 yrs ago a freind of mine discovered how the Mexicans stained furniture. He was into buying this rustic furniture and beleived he could get better prices by going into the interior of Mexico. There he saw firsthand how they made their stains.

Take a chunk of tar, the kind they melt down for roofing, and soak it in gasoline. It will melt down pretty fast. Just adjust the amount of gasoline until you get the desired tone.

You use it as you would any stain, wipe it on and let it dry. The gasoline evaporates and then you can varnish or shellac as you need.

Tar is cheap. I've managed to bum a small piece from roofers whenever I needed some. A tube costs about $15 and will last a very long time.
 
I saw once on an old furniture finishing show that they used to stain wood long ago by brushing lye solution onto the wood. Use any commercially available lye (just not with the green crystals in it.) Mix with water, brush it on until the right shade is achieved, then neutralize with white vinegar. Understand that I've never used this technique, just saw it on TV.
 


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