I used vinegar after soaking steel wool in it and it created a nice
color on a little oak bowl now used for wrapped candy. Has anybody
heard of any health problems from ebonizing an oak bowl using vinegar
and steel wool, covering the bowl with mineral oil and then using the
bowl for eating salad? When I searched this site using 'ebonizing' I
was not able to find discussions about health concerns with vinegar
and steel wool. Thanks.

When you ebonize wood, you are working with the tanins that naturally
occur in wood. I doubt it's any more or less harmful than the wood was
to begin with.

FYI, the steel wool is a help with wood with fewer tanins like maple,
oak will ebonize without it. I'd love to see a pic of the finished
product, I've not yet gotten around to ebonizing. I do have a really
bad article on it here somewhere.

I'd like to see a picture of ebonized Oak you do without iron, would be
amazing !!!!!

Now when this does not work with the aid of iron in wood like Ash, you
could try bringing in tannin by steeping it in strong thee, then use
the vinegar/iron mix.

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

woodturningcreature wrote:

FYI, the steel wool is a help with wood with fewer tanins like maple,
oak will ebonize without it. I'd love to see a pic of the finished
product, I've not yet gotten around to ebonizing. I do have a really
bad article on it here somewhere.

I have a dozen or so spalted red oak blanks I harvested and waxed about
a 9 mts ago. I notice now that anywhere there is wax on them, it is
turning jet black underneath the wax layer.

Are they ebonizing on their own?

cad
handturnedbowls.biz

wrote:
When you ebonize wood, you are working with the tanins that naturally
occur in wood. I doubt it's any more or less harmful than the wood was
to begin with.

FYI, the steel wool is a help with wood with fewer tanins like maple,
oak will ebonize without it. I'd love to see a pic of the finished
product, I've not yet gotten around to ebonizing. I do have a really
bad article on it here somewhere.

"cad" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have a dozen or so spalted red oak blanks I harvested and waxed about
a 9 mts ago. I notice now that anywhere there is wax on them, it is
turning jet black underneath the wax layer.

Are they ebonizing on their own?


Mildew.

warpedwoodturner wrote:
I used vinegar after soaking steel wool in it and it created a nice
color on a little oak bowl now used for wrapped candy. Has anybody
heard of any health problems from ebonizing an oak bowl using vinegar
and steel wool, covering the bowl with mineral oil and then using the
bowl for eating salad? When I searched this site using 'ebonizing' I
was not able to find discussions about health concerns with vinegar
and steel wool. Thanks.



Nice work on the ebonizing. I'm just going to have to try that sooner
or later.

cad wrote:
I have a dozen or so spalted red oak blanks I harvested and waxed about
a 9 mts ago. I notice now that anywhere there is wax on them, it is
turning jet black underneath the wax layer.

Are they ebonizing on their own?

cad
handturnedbowls.biz


CAD ... I'm no expert (certainly not at this distance!) but it sounds as
if the trapped moisture is sporting a very nice fungal growth.

Bill

.....
I like America, just as everybody else does. I love America, I gotta say
that. But America will be judged.
Bob Dylan

"cad" wrote in news:1165410030.547015.293430@
16g2000cwy.googlegroups.com:

I have a dozen or so spalted red oak blanks I harvested and waxed about
a 9 mts ago. I notice now that anywhere there is wax on them, it is
turning jet black underneath the wax layer.

Are they ebonizing on their own?

cad
handturnedbowls.biz

wrote:
When you ebonize wood, you are working with the tanins that naturally
occur in wood. I doubt it's any more or less harmful than the wood was
to begin with.

FYI, the steel wool is a help with wood with fewer tanins like maple,
oak will ebonize without it. I'd love to see a pic of the finished
product, I've not yet gotten around to ebonizing. I do have a really
bad article on it here somewhere.


Spalt.