I did a staircase of treads and 59 spindles. I left the parts in the tent
for 2..maybe 3 days. The tent was barely bigger than the stock (2 batches)
.... about a cubic yard.

My experience was that most of the color change appeared in the first 8
hours and then it tapered off from there. My casual experiments showed that
more time resulted in deeper penetration. Compared to stain the (color
change) penetration was impressive... about 1/8". That is, you would have to
try really hard to sand through the color.

One thing NOT to do: put the tent outside with an unpitched "roof".
Condensation formed on the top of the tend and dripped onto a few pieces. It
caused a bit of ugly staining.

Good luck with that

-Steve





wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks for all the replies.

I really like the thought of using household ammonia vs. trying to
track down the 25% stuff.

Can I assume that the 5% stuff will simply take 5X the time to fume.
If so that's no big deal. The Fine Woodworking article showing fuming
results for 0-36 hrs using the 25% stuff. I have no problem letting my
project fume for a week or more if it'll work.

TIA. This group is still one of the highlights of Usenet.



Stephen M wrote:
Don't laugh but I'm thinking of using my pickup truck bed with canopy
top as the fuming chamber once the table is done. Then I'll use
linseed oil and probably a satin oil for the top for added protection.

that's kind of big, but it may work OK

P.S. No, I don't plan to drive the truck while the fuming process is
taking place!!

Am I crazy or will this work?? Has anyone fumed white oak before?? Any
tip or techniques?? I did read the Fine Woodworking article from isssue
126.


I have successfully fumed with hosehold ammonia... the article's
assertion
that you need the industrial stuff is simply wrong.

I can only assume that the author was just repeating an accepted "fact".

Is industrial faster/better/different? maybe, but household ammonia does
does work.

DAGS... we've touched on this topic here before.

Steve