So ... I've been curious about fuming and decided to look at using this process for a project I'm doing now, using red oak material. Prior to doing anything with the project I decided to do some test pieces with BLO wiped on or not, and to better understand the affect fuming had on the wood. And so for my test cases, I poured ~1/4 cup Janitorial strength ammonia into a couple of Tupperware bowls with lids on; allowed the pieces to soak for a length of time and was somewhat surprised with the results. Posted in the pics below are 4 pieces of scrap material from the project, and from top to bottom the differences between the pieces are:
Just some observations from me are: I was surprised how the addition of BLO appears to accelerate the darkening process. The top piece is almost black ... like some of the darkest French Roast coffee ever. Perhaps the 'wet' or oiled surface opened the pores and allowed the ammonia fumes to soak in quicker? I used janitorial strength ammonia (10%) from Ace hardware ... it's cheap and easily accessible. Even still - the 10% strength will take your head off!! Based on that, I'm actually fuming my project in an outside area, sitting on a scrap piece of plywood with a small frame wrapped in plastic. Can hardly wait to see the results in the morning.
If anyone has further thoughts or suggestions ... as always these are appreciated.
Ciao ... Dorm
- Fumed for 3 days, and wiped down the piece with BLO prior to putting it in the bowl
- Fumed for 1 day with BLO wiped on
- Fumed for 3 days with no BLO applied
- Raw piece of the wood ... no fuming or BLO
Just some observations from me are: I was surprised how the addition of BLO appears to accelerate the darkening process. The top piece is almost black ... like some of the darkest French Roast coffee ever. Perhaps the 'wet' or oiled surface opened the pores and allowed the ammonia fumes to soak in quicker? I used janitorial strength ammonia (10%) from Ace hardware ... it's cheap and easily accessible. Even still - the 10% strength will take your head off!! Based on that, I'm actually fuming my project in an outside area, sitting on a scrap piece of plywood with a small frame wrapped in plastic. Can hardly wait to see the results in the morning.
If anyone has further thoughts or suggestions ... as always these are appreciated.
Ciao ... Dorm