bushwacked Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Looking to try something new for my new soon to be office. I can't afford ebony so I am going to dye black. It is going to be something like below so I was curious what wood would be the best for this type of project? I was thinking oak since its on the cheaper priced wood. What else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Maple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ResidentEvil Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Looking to try something new for my new soon to be office. I can't afford ebony so I am going to dye black. It is going to be something like below so I was curious what wood would be the best for this type of project? I was thinking oak since its on the cheaper priced wood. What else? May depend on the method you are using to get the wood black. If you are using a method that relies on the tannins in the wood, then there are a couple types of wood that have a higher tannin content and would work better. I did some research on this a while back, and can't remember all the recommended woods, but I believe Oak was one of the ones recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Red oak turns black (almost purple) when exposed to iron acetate. India ink should turn any wood black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 If you don't need absolute black, you could go with wenge. If that's too expensive, peruvian walnut is also very dark and may fit the bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Ash and India Ink 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Ebony and... more Ebony... I've done the Ash/Ink route -- it works... BTW: you don’t have to go Gaboon Ebony... There are other species that are significantly less expensive – what you lose is the anthracite appearance, what you gain is the potential for interesting grain patterns... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Ash and oak take dark stains really well. Closed pore woods like maple and birch are more difficult. Walnut takes dark stain well and has grain similar to ebony but is probably more than you want to spens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Of all the dyed/stained/whatever ebonized wood I've seen, the ash and India ink has looked the best. I haven't done it myself because that's what Mother Nature made wenge for. I imagine maple would be harder to get jet black because its grain is so closed...but if you're going for the ebony look, it would be closer. Dyed ash would look more like wenge...open grain. Edit: shut up Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Of all the dyed/stained/whatever ebonized wood I've seen, the ash and India ink has looked the best. I haven't done it myself because that's what Mother Nature made wenge for. I imagine maple would be harder to get jet black because its grain is so closed...but if you're going for the ebony look, it would be closer. Dyed ash would look more like wenge...open grain. Edit: shut up Mike. Cherry would work too. Especially if you can find curly cherry. It look great black. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Ash and India ink... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted June 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Thanks for all the input guys!! Trying to go cheap with this as it won't be a show piece at all. Just something for me to work on my skills again. Maybe after the prototype I'll grab some actual wedge or cheap ebony if I like the way it turns out. @estesbubba that looks great!! I would be happy if I could achieve that color/look. I have not read anything on Indian ink yet. Can I finish with ARS or my Endurovar water based stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 My guess is India ink is water-based and I would seal with dewaxed shellac before applying a topcoat especially if it's waterborne. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Ash and oak take dark stains really well. Closed pore woods like maple and birch are more difficult. Walnut takes dark stain well and has grain similar to ebony but is probably more than you want to spens. I've heard it told that your ts will develop a severe wobble if you recommend that walnut be dyed or stained! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ResidentEvil Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 Am I still allowed to post here if I both dyed and stained Walnut in the past week? In my defense, it was lumber I bought rough cut at the yard and when I planed it down it looked like absolute fecal matter. I can handle having sap wood and light dark variations, but this piece of lumber looked like someone just randomly splattered walnut coloring into the sap wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Slack Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 I heard you can do something to walnut as well. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurricane Dry Posted June 13, 2015 Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 Transtint black mixed with water on poplar works. After applying the transtint , sand then transtint again. Follow with general finishes oil based gel stain black. This will give an even black on all grains. I have not yet arm-r-sealed or top coated my test pieces yet. So far, it looks evenly black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raefco Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 If a guy was looking for uniform color but wanted the texture of the wood to show, the quickest and most consistent results would be gained from well thinned lacquer you can make it any color or level of opacity you want and top coating would not be an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 There ain't so such thing as cheap wenge and especially not ebony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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