Maple stains revisited

R

Rob!

Joined
Feb 9, 2000
Messages
1,865
I have a 1"x2" by 4 foot piece of curly maple that I picked up today. I'd like to try some stains to help show off the tight curl. I checked the old archives and found some nice pics of knives using the feibings leather dye. Very nice. I also found a few posts about using chromic acid. On of the posts said it was a mix of chromic acid and water but didn't say what concentration. Also, one post described chromic acid stain as a nice silver colour and the other described it as a nice red stain. My questions then are

1) Where can I buy chromic acid?
2) How do I mix it?
3) Does it need to be neutralized?
4) What colour does it normally come out?
5) Can anyone point me at a picture of the results?

Thanks



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Rob Ridley
Ranger Original Handcrafted Knives
 
I use chromic acid at work to clean glassware. I believe it is a mixture of acids. This is VERY nasty stuff. I would opt for a safer method. If you are still interested, I will talk to the lab and find out the exact makeup of it for you. Now for a bit of safety preaching.... Add acid to water NOT water to acid. Do it slowly. Don't dump it in the toilet or down the sink, it will explode. Having to work with various acids on a daily basis, I would stick to the less powerful ones or better yet, not at all. There.......All done. Sorry if I rained on anyones parade.
 
If you're hell bent on doing it with acids then I can provide little counsel. However, if you are interested in a simpler method might I suggest the creative use of a small torch. I have been able to achieve remarkable finishes on wooden gunstocks by using heat and oils to bring out burl and fiddleback. It depends on how much time you want to spend preparing and finishing.

All the Best

Dileas Gu Brath
 
rob
Making custom muzzloaders and knives
I found away to raise the grain and it is easy
I like alcohol based stains,put your first coat on then take a heat gun and make a pass
over your wood you will see the grain raiseing then take steel wool and rub it down then repeat the process until you get
it the color you want it will be looking like
glass when you are done,when done take a peace of wooden rod and run it over the wood
to press all the stripe down.then seal.
 
LPRICE

Thank you for the cautions. I have NEVER resented a safety tip. I have a BSc which doesn't help much on job applications these days, but it did give me some time in the lab with nasty stuff. I am comfortable with acids but not comfortable enough to get careless.

Dav

This piece of wood has enough for about a dozen handles. What I'd like to do is learn and experiment. Yes, I'd like some guidance on the chromic acid process, but I'll just gobble up any other technique you can offer. Thanks!

Phillip

Some people here have described good results with this stuff. Maybe it is a different concentration. Also, the posts all caution that it only works with maple.

Thanks all



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Rob Ridley
Ranger Original Handcrafted Knives
 
Nathan

I built a renegade kit last year and one of the things they cautioned against was steel wool because it might snag and rip out a chunk. Am I missing a step, or are they full of Hooey?

I presume the heat gun is just for drying and not for light scorching.

Birchwood Casey sealer / filler to seal it?

Thanks



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Rob Ridley
Ranger Original Handcrafted Knives
 
I have been using acid stain on maple and really like the color control I can get. I've been using "Majestic Maple Stain", available from R. W. Wilson, P.O. Box 2012 Sdifgon, W. VA 26062; (304) 723-2771. His small bottle cost me $4.50 at a gun show several years ago and it says it contains chromium trioxide and tap water. Doesn't give the concentration, but it's fairly strong - will definitely eat up your finger tip if you don't wear rubber gloves. I never use it full strength, however, so it's lasted me a long time. I usually dilute it 4:1 (4 parts water) for a light yellow color, 3:1 for a medium brown and 2:1 for a very dark brown. The color seems to be a little "warmer" than I've been able to get with leather dye. You can always go darker by re-staining with a stronger concentration and a light buffing with 600 grit paper or steel wool will lighten up the less porous parts a bit, making the contrast between the soft and hard stripes even more dramatic. Since it's an acid, I neutralize it with a baking soda wash after I get the color I like.

So if you decide to try chromic acid, I would recommend a VERY dilute solution at first and increase the strength until you get the color you like.

By the way, I just e-mailed you a scan of a knife handle I'm working on. I meant to Zip the file before attaching it and senility set in before I got that far. So, when you start downloading an email that looks like it might be umpteen gigabytes long, you'll know who to cuss out before it even finishes downloading. Sorry!

Ron

[This message has been edited by Ron Peek (edited 06-30-2000).]
 
for raising the color on maple i use walnut watco danish oil rub it in with a rag about 15 minites then wipe it of an walla if you want it darker doit agian

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All that is not Given Is Lost
 
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