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#1
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Ebonizing Wood - Article by Brian Boggs
For those that may be interested in ebonizing wood, there is an
excellent tutorial by Brian Boggs in the June issue of Popular Woodworking on page 40. http://www.popularwoodworking.com/ar...Ebonizing_Wood I was requested to build an urn for my brothers dear old black lab that recently passed away. Her fur was black as coal and shined like black chrome in the sunlight. I was saving a nice plank of curly maple for something special and this certainly qualifies as special in my book. Made the box and pondered how to finish it - wanted to do something extra special. Black fur, Brain's article on ebonizing and I had my answer. I can't give all the details of the article (copyright) but my results from following Brian's tutorial exceeded my expectations. Sure, the pictures in the article show a deep rich black finish that only a pro could achieve - so I thought.... Ordered the 2lb package of quebracho extract from Van Dyke's Taxidermy ( www.vandykestaxidermy.com ) and bought a quart of a national, name-brand white vinegar that Brian insists is the best one to use. Brian suggest several methods for making the iron mixture and I choose the steel wool route. Took a fresh 0000 pad and cleaned it with hot water and soap to get rid of any oil and rinsed it. Poured the vinegar into a quart jar and tossed in the steel wool pad. Let that dissolve / rust for a week or so and then strain the mixture thru a coffee filter. Brian suggests a faster, 1 day method but nothing you want to do indoors he say's in the article. Come the day to apply the magic potions and I made sure that the wood was wetted and sanded (to 320 grit) several times so as to avoid raising the grain again after applying the quebracho extract mixture (1 heaping tblspn to 1 pint warm water). Again, Brian goes into excellent detail on how to apply and what not to do and I did exactly what he said not to do. I contaminated the mixture and had to start over. I coated the whole box in separate sections (top, bottom and the assembled box) with the quebracho extract mixture (bark tea) using a nylon sash brush and let it soak in for 30-40 minutes. You want the chemical reaction to happen down in the wood fibers as Brian say's in the article, and not like ink laying on the top. After a good soaking with the bark tea, I made sure the wood was still damp but no puddles of water spots. Time to apply the iron mixture. Be sure you don't rub the wood surface during any of this - you want to avoid burnishing the wood. Again I used a nylon sash brush to apply the iron mixture. The chemical reaction is immediate and within 30 seconds or so, you will have a black surface - maybe not so good looking at first but give it time and be sure you coat everything. Let everything dry and buff it all with a clean cloth. At this point you are probably saying "where's that deep rich black look he was promising?". It's there, just need to apply another coat of the quebracho extract (no iron mixture this time) and wash the surface with it. Blot off any puddles and let it dry. Buff one last time and be ready to be amazed ! Swipe some mineral spirits on to clean the piece and see how it will look with your favorite finish....damn, that is really, really black. I mean, no bluish tint at all and it is simply a gorgeous deep black. I don't have access to any binary groups or I would post a picture but the picture on the Popular Woodworking site of Brian's chair http://www.popularwoodworking.com/ar...Ebonizing_Wood gives you a pretty good idea of how it looks. I did some further testing on some scraps. I wanted to see how far it really penetrated the fibers or was this just a stain laying on the surface. I can assure you that by following Brian's directions and allowing the bark tea to soak in, it goes deep. After some hand sanding with various grits, I was no where near bare wood. Finely took some 80 grit and my ROS and about 5 minutes sanding on a 10" square piece of maple scrap to get to bare wood. There were still streaks in the curly sections that were grayish / black. So this is definitely not a surface treatment and definitely a process worthy of your time if you're looking to ebonize some wood. I sent Brian a thank you note for such an excellent tutorial. It's dead simple, extremely low cost (~$7USD for the quebracho extract ) and the cost of a quart of vinegar and a steel wool pad (or some rusty old nails....). I tried the process on some small samples of pine, (not so good) but on hardwoods like maple, walnut, oak and ash it worked nicely. Should you be interested, Brian's site can be found here... www.brianboggchairs.com No affiliation, just a happy camper. Bob S. |
#2
Posted to rec.woodworking
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Ebonizing Wood - Article by Brian Boggs
Very cool. Great sounding technique. Thanks.
BTW, the link is missign an 's' should be www.brianboggSchairs.com On Aug 11, 11:07*am, "BobS" wrote: For those that may be interested in ebonizing wood, there is an excellent tutorial by Brian Boggs in the June issue of Popular Woodworking on page 40. http://www.popularwoodworking.com/ar...Ebonizing_Wood I was requested to build an urn for my brothers dear old black lab that recently passed away. *Her fur was black as coal and shined like black chrome in the sunlight. *I was saving a nice plank of curly maple for something special and this certainly qualifies as special in my book. Made the box and pondered how to finish it - wanted to do something extra special. Black fur, Brain's article on ebonizing and I had my answer. *I can't give all the details of the article (copyright) but my results from following Brian's tutorial exceeded my expectations. Sure, the pictures in the article show a deep rich black finish that only a pro could achieve - so I thought.... Ordered the 2lb package of quebracho extract from Van Dyke's Taxidermy (www.vandykestaxidermy.com) and bought a quart of a national, name-brand white vinegar that Brian insists is the best one to use. Brian suggest several methods for making the iron mixture and I choose the steel wool route. *Took a fresh 0000 pad and cleaned it with hot water and soap to get rid of any oil and rinsed it. *Poured the vinegar into a quart jar and tossed in the steel wool pad. Let that dissolve / rust for a week or so and then strain the mixture thru a coffee filter. *Brian suggests a faster, 1 day method but nothing you want to do indoors he say's in the article. Come the day to apply the magic potions and I made sure that the wood was wetted and sanded (to 320 grit) several times so as to avoid raising the grain again after applying the quebracho extract mixture (1 heaping tblspn to 1 pint warm water). *Again, Brian goes into excellent detail on how to apply and what not to do and I did exactly what he said not to do. I contaminated the mixture and had to start over. I coated the whole box in separate sections (top, bottom and the assembled box) with the quebracho extract mixture (bark tea) using a nylon sash brush and let it soak in for 30-40 minutes. You want the chemical reaction to happen down in the wood fibers as Brian say's in the article, and not like ink laying on the top. *After a good soaking with the bark tea, I made sure the wood was still damp but no puddles of water spots. Time to apply the iron mixture. Be sure you don't rub the wood surface during any of this - you want to avoid burnishing the wood. Again I used a nylon sash brush to apply the iron mixture. *The chemical reaction is immediate and within 30 seconds or so, you will have a black surface - maybe not so good looking at first but give it time and be sure you coat everything. Let everything dry and buff it all with a clean cloth. *At this point you are probably saying "where's that deep rich black look he was promising?". *It's there, just need to apply another coat of the quebracho extract (no iron mixture this time) and wash the surface with it. *Blot off any puddles and let it dry. *Buff one last time and be ready to be amazed ! Swipe some mineral spirits on to clean the piece and see how it will look with your favorite finish....damn, that is really, really black. I mean, no bluish tint at all and it is simply a gorgeous deep black. *I don't have access to any binary groups or I would post a picture but the picture on the Popular Woodworking site of Brian's chairhttp://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/Ebonizing_Wood*gives you a pretty good idea of how it looks. I did some further testing on some scraps. I wanted to see how far it really penetrated the fibers or was this just a stain laying on the surface. I can assure you that by following Brian's directions and allowing the bark tea to soak in, it goes deep. *After some hand sanding with various grits, I was no where near bare wood. *Finely took some 80 grit and my ROS and about 5 minutes sanding on a 10" square piece of maple scrap to get to bare wood. *There were still streaks in the curly sections that were grayish / black. *So this is definitely not a surface treatment and definitely a process worthy of your time if you're looking to ebonize some wood. I sent Brian a thank you note for such an excellent tutorial. It's dead simple, extremely low cost (~$7USD for the quebracho extract ) and the cost of a quart of vinegar and a steel wool pad (or some rusty old nails....). I tried the process on some small samples of pine, (not so good) but on hardwoods like maple, walnut, oak and ash it worked nicely. Should you be interested, Brian's site can be found here...www.brianboggchairs.com No affiliation, just a happy camper. Bob S. |
#3
Posted to rec.woodworking
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Ebonizing Wood - Article by Brian Boggs
"SonomaProducts.com" wrote in message ... Very cool. Great sounding technique. Thanks. BTW, the link is missign an 's' should be www.brianboggSchairs.com Hmmmm.... made an earlier post saying Thanks for catching my error on Brian's web site address but it hasn't shown up. I said I would write his address 100 times on the blackboard for screwing it up. One more time.... 1. http://www.brianboggschairs.com/ .. .. .. .. .. .. 99. http://www.brianboggschairs.com/ 100. http://www.brianboggschairs.com/ |
#4
Posted to rec.woodworking
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Ebonizing Wood - Article by Brian Boggs
On Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:07:14 -0400, the infamous "BobS"
scrawled the following: For those that may be interested in ebonizing wood, Does he use paint, or just a suitably long application of fire? -- "Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good." --H. L. Mencken --- |
#5
Posted to rec.woodworking
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Ebonizing Wood - Article by Brian Boggs
BobS wrote:
.... I sent Brian a thank you note for such an excellent tutorial. It's dead simple, extremely low cost ... Plus he's a nice guy. Never been disappointed in anything he's said or written I've tried. Went by shop years ago while he was still in Berea between son in N Ky and we in E TN... -- |
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