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Experiment - Making Buckeye Black and Blue.....I hope
- Thread starter Burl Source
- Start date
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2008
- Messages
- 7,187
These photos show a batch cut from each way I treated the buckeye.
1st photo was with cornmeal. The portion of the slab that was in contact with the cornmeal did not turn blue. Part of the interior did.
2nd photo was with the yoghurt. A lot like with the cornmeal.
The last batch (6 blocks on top) was a thick chunk untreated.
I won't know for sure until I cut up the big untreated chunk,
but it is looking like the buckeye gets better blues if it is left unsliced and left to color up on it's own.
I will post photos when we cut the big chunk.
1st photo was with cornmeal. The portion of the slab that was in contact with the cornmeal did not turn blue. Part of the interior did.
2nd photo was with the yoghurt. A lot like with the cornmeal.
The last batch (6 blocks on top) was a thick chunk untreated.
I won't know for sure until I cut up the big untreated chunk,
but it is looking like the buckeye gets better blues if it is left unsliced and left to color up on it's own.
I will post photos when we cut the big chunk.
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2008
- Messages
- 7,187
Well.....it is almost a year later so I dug out a big chunk of the Buckeye that I had set aside to let it do it's own thing naturally.
When we pressure washed the outside to remove any pockets of dirt and stuff, the exterior was almost all blonde. Hardly any color.
With the bandsaw I split the chunk in half to see what was inside.
There was a lot of really good blue coloring.
Now I cut it into slabs.
Lots of blonde and blue contrasting colors. I am happy.
Tomorrow I will cut the slabs into blocks and finish up drying the wood. After that they will be off to K&G for stabilizing.
What did I learn from this?
Don't rush things and let things happen the way they are supposed to happen.
I had forgotten all about this piece until a couple knife makers stopped by the other day and asked how the experiment was going.
When we pressure washed the outside to remove any pockets of dirt and stuff, the exterior was almost all blonde. Hardly any color.
With the bandsaw I split the chunk in half to see what was inside.
There was a lot of really good blue coloring.
Now I cut it into slabs.
Lots of blonde and blue contrasting colors. I am happy.
Tomorrow I will cut the slabs into blocks and finish up drying the wood. After that they will be off to K&G for stabilizing.
What did I learn from this?
Don't rush things and let things happen the way they are supposed to happen.
I had forgotten all about this piece until a couple knife makers stopped by the other day and asked how the experiment was going.
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2011
- Messages
- 1,043
Extremely cool Mark. They look wicked!
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2011
- Messages
- 1,429
Oooh yeah!!!!!
Looking nice! I can't wait to see em stabilized and all buffed out on a couple knives.
Looking nice! I can't wait to see em stabilized and all buffed out on a couple knives.
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2011
- Messages
- 3,006
That looks great. I'd really like to see some on an etched or patina'd carbon steel blade.
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2005
- Messages
- 275
Mark, can you share a little on your drying process, I just cut up lots of Spalted Pecan and would like it to get dry so I can use it. Thanks, Bill
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2004
- Messages
- 6,212
nice looking stuf and you know how i am about the contrast so keep me in mind (i go to order a bunch of stuff again soon )
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2008
- Messages
- 7,187
After I have cut up the wood into oversized blocks they go to my drying room. It was made based on kiln plans I saw on a dept of agriculture site.
I place all the blocks with a bit of space inbetween. The rack sets in the center of the room.
On one side of the room there is a whole house fan mounted to blow directly across to the other side of the room.
On the wall across from the fan is a baffle mounted at 45 degrees to deflect the air downward.
On the side of the room with the fan I have a dehumidifier sitting on the floor.
This setup blows the air across the room in a continuing circle. The dehumidifier pulls out the moisture when the damp air blows past.
Different woods act different so I usually put a couple sacrificial pieces in first to see what happens.