Coloring with iron acetate, and grain filling.


Shane Jimerfield

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A new video from W. Ng Woodworking school.

I've never tried anything like this before, but it sure looks interesting. I really like wood in as natural a state as I can make it, yes this very labor intensive.

I would probably only do it to satisfy a customer or to match an existing piece.

Very instructive nonetheless.

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Tell you the truth when he started by blowing the wood off the board I thought ok resonable I wouldn't do that till the end but each his own. But when he started wrapping tape around his fingers my first thought was oh brother I work with my hands the caluses protect my hands so if your hands hurt from sanding then maybe you should do some real hard work or build more projects so you sand more. some of us can't have a cushy job. (To be fair I did wake up in a craby mood)

Some of the finishing work was interesting but as the video was going on I couldn't help count all his chisles and planes I can understand planes with different heads so if you do specialty hand work but why do you need over 30 chisles?

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William Ng s shop.

Japanese chisels come in many different styles and can be quite specialized . I know they usually have a harder steel for the edge forged to a softer iron body. With a hollow back. Some of these chisels can be very expensive. I am sure a little research will give you a more detailed explanation . The Japanese and asian approach to woodworking is very different. Thin saws that cut on the pull stroke, hand planes that are pulled (not pushed) and sharpening techniques that produce incredible results.

My aunt always told me it's better to appear un-educated than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Even if we don't use all these techniques learning about other ways to do things opens up possibilities .

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I know. Little about japanese saws and planes but I don't know that much about about their chisles seems like no matter how specialized there made its still just a blade on a stick. A lot of turners I know have a whole rack of gouges. But the longer I turn the more I ralise that I only use like 5 tools on regular bases. 90 percent of the work is done with those tools and every once in a while I need a special tool that I never use again after the one job. So I have to wonder if those chisles are ever used on a regular bases.

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Sooo, I made a batch of iron acetate with steel wool and white vinegar.  Not only did the steel wool not break down after a week, it turned the project blue!  Granted I was working on red oak, but I was still pretty shocked when I did my test board.  I ended up using it anyway, combined with some dark walnut stain, to get the coloring the client wanted.

 

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Yeah, the iron acetate technique is very species specific. While the general rule is that woods with lots of tanin get darker, red oak goes crazy, sometimes going to a deep purple-black. I've also noticed (with lighter colored woods) that leaving the surface exposed to oxygen allows the darkening to continue. Seal the wood as soon as it reaches a shade you like!

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Sooo, I made a batch of iron acetate with steel wool and white vinegar. Not only did the steel wool not break down after a week, it turned the project blue! Granted I was working on red oak, but I was still pretty shocked when I did my test board. I ended up using it anyway, combined with some dark walnut stain, to get the coloring the client wanted.

I have had good luck with wallnut and cherry they get black black oaks and other domestic common woods will just turn blue grey i want to do a experiment and let the boards soak for months and see if It will seep all the way through. If I had a pressure chamber I would try it that way.
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Duck, sounds like its time to drop a pen blank in a jar and see what happens! I'd worry that the acids would break down the wood over time, though.

 

i have sat and figured out how i would do it i will take a flat tub and fill it with the mixture then put a mix of different thickness pieces of cherry starting at 1/4-1 inch then every month i will cut off half a inch from each piece.  and measure how long it takes each thickness to become black all the way through.  i threw in some chunks of cherry in my jar a few year back and when i took them out few months later i dint keep track of them so i dont know how long and  they had turned mostly solid black all the way.  these were small pieces that i cut off a small box so i know that the chemicals will seep deep in the wood but what i want to do is make artificial ebony with cherry or walnut for inlay and other decorative pieces. 

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To infuse the dye faster you need an electrical vacuum pump. Goofing around, I had dyed some string inlay black using those food freezer bags by ziplock. With the bag kit was a had pump. Worked ok and did cut the time it took vs just soaking in a pan without vacuum. 

 

-Ace-

 

Heres a link to the pic

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mq19ygi5zcyxj92/Photo%20Aug%2027%2C%2010%2004%2026%20PM.jpg?dl=0

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