maple experiment

[flyrod444]

I have alway wanted to try and stain maple using vinegar and steel wool. I put a piece of steel wool in white vinegar for a couple days and wiped it on the call, then heated it up by passing it infront of a flame quickly and it turned out better than I though it would. I think I will do the same to a bowl some day.
Jack

 

[Sully]

That right there is purty! Gonna have to try that.

 

[CarvedTones]

Excellent! And timely; I am working on a medieval recorder that I want to look aged but still show some grain/figure (the hard maple I am using doesn't have much). This looks like a really good way to do it. What kind of finish? I am thinking of thinned oil if that doesn't make it run, or shellac if it does and if alcohol makes it run ???

Anyway, great job! :icon_thum

 

[Trent Mason]

Now THAT is cool! Might have to try that sometime. +1 on what finish did you use?

 

[HLW]

HEY GUYS, I'VE DONE THIS WITH CHERRY AND IT REALLY WORKS GREAT BUT HAVE NEVER TRIED IT WITH MAPLE.:thumbs_up

 

[Nice Figures]

Jack, that came out really nice, I've never seen this....let me make sure I'm getting this right, the vinegar and steel wool makes a stain that you wipe on the maple with a cloth then before it dries you heat (but not burn) it with the flame? It looks great.

Paula

 

[BobcatBob]

I have alway wanted to try and stain maple using vinegar and steel wool. I put a piece of steel wool in white vinegar for a couple days and wiped it on the call, then heated it up by passing it infront of a flame quickly and it turned out better than I though it would. I think I will do the same to a bowl some day.
Jack

What is the reason for heating it up with a flame? Would a hot air gun do the same thing if heat is necessary? :icon_scra

Bob

 

[flyrod444]

Thanks everyone, I was very pleased with the results. I used white vinegar since it was all that I could find in my pantry at the time. I held the call in my hand when I passed it thru the heat so I would say a heat gun or even hold it over a gas grill should work. It didn't darken the wood at all until I did this. I have done a few more since and the steel wool has been in the vinegar now for over a week and it is turning the wood a nice brown color now. I will post some more pic's. As far as finish I always use spray can poly on most of my calls since it is easy to do and some what wheather proofs the wood. I then buff the call.
Jack

 

[FredP]

that is way kewl!:icon_thum:icon_thum

 

[Dragon]

That is just awesome. I'm gonna hafta give some of my stuff a try with that and see what happens.

 

[Gofor]

Just a thought on this process that I admit I have never tried to fruition:

I sharpen my hand tools using the "scary sharp" method of wet-dry paper on a granite block. I use water as the lubricant. The "slurry" that comes from the paper after sharpening plane irons, chisels, etc, will turn almost any wood black with minimal contact. Would I be smart to collect this residue (which I rinse off the paper with my spritz bottle of water) in a glass jar for future dying?

Go

 

[boxxmaker]

Dang Jack,looks like you done,done it again,that is really nice,might just give it a try when I get back.

PS has the misses missed her vinegar yet :rotflm:

 

[Robert]

Is the vinegar supposed to turn in color, say after 7 days? Does the steel wool show any reaction?

I only ask cus I've watched for a week now and the vinegar still looks clear, steel wool shows no reaction, I was thinking it would at least rust up.

Robert

 

[MrAudio815]

Jack That is Beautiful~!

And Great Method, Thanks For Sharing.

Now is it Hard Maple or Soft Maple? It looks a little curly so I'm guessing Soft Maple?

 

[flyrod444]

I found it in the shop I'm teaching in so I'm not sure which it is. I wood guess soft maple as well.
Jack

 

[sberube]

Soooo... Obviously, 3 minutes after reading this post, I had a steel wool in a mason jar with some vinegar. Is the vinegar supposed to change color? I can observe the exothermic reaction, and the hydrogen bubbles detaching from the wool, but my mix has been sitting for around 15 hours now, and the vinegar does not seem to have changed color. Is that to be expected?

 

[flyrod444]

The solution did not turn dark until about a week after I did this call. It was like wiping water on the call. It was when I applied heat to the call that the color popped.
Good Luck,
Jack

 

[Gotcha6]

Do you have any idea how deep the stain penetrated the wood? It looks like a process that may lend itself to pen blanks if it goes deep enough - or not - for a mottled effect.

 

[McRabbet]

I did some unexpected alchemy that produced similar results last Fall after the Klingspor Extravaganza in Hickory. I had mounted my Worksharp 3000 on a piece of unfinished White Oak plywood and had demonstrated the WS both Friday and Saturday on a number of chisels and plane irons, which generated quite a bit of metallic grinding debris around the unit. The ultrafine metal particles look like gray soot, but the surface of the plywood looked relatively clean after I wiped it all off. The achemy occurred when I took the tool back to my truck in the rain -- it got damp (I wiped off the WS, but just stowed the unit on my truck for the trip home). When I unloaded the truck the following morning, the entire surface of the plywood was permanently stained a gray-black. Let me see -- there was a Stanley #3, a #5 and 607 Bedrock plane irons, a few Buck Brothers chisels and grits up to 4000 -- Hmmmmm.

 

[rbdoby]

I've tried this on red oak but not on maple. What's happening is the iron in the vinegar and steel wool solution is reacting with tannins in the wood. On red oak it turns dark within 20 minutes, no heat needed. Check out this post for a lot of info about this process: jimithy Ebonizing Experiments 06-19-2009, 08:57 PM

The chair on the right I stained with vinegar and steel wool and finished with Danish Oil. The one on the left is natural with Danish Oil.

Rick Doby