I thought I’d just sort of knock out a quick little desk for my wife. I had some walnut at the bottom of a leftover stack that was usable outside of a little sapwood here and there.
That was six months ago. It probably is the nicest piece I’ve made so far as far as proportion and design goes. The fronts of the drawers are made of curly walnut (I stumbled into it- never seen or hear of it before).There is a little sapwood in the sides and plinth.Also this is an early Queen Anne piece.
I just bought some medium brown walnut aniline stain and some red mahoghany (dry powders) from Jeff Jewitt’s company. I was thinking of filling the wood with Behlens dark walnut filller and then sanding, sealing with linseed oil and then Shellac and then spraying catalyzed lacquer. I’d like to stain it first to even the grain out. Normally I’d just use orange shellac and no stain.I only have used wax based stain.
Anyone out there used aniline stain on walnut? Should I add a little red mahoghany to it? What proportions? Is it really necessary to fill it? Am I overdoing it? Will I blunt the effect of the curly walnut by doing this.?Sorry for so long a post.
Thanks
Frank
Replies
Frank -
I've never used Anilene dyes before. Is there a place on the web you can reference that might give a little info on them? Also, a place to order them from? I have several dollars worth of Brazilian Rosewood that is not exactly the color I was hoping for. I'm wondering if Anilene dyes can be used.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy
PlaneWood
Finisher's Supply on Blue Bell, I think it is, just off Sweetwater anyway between the 610 N Loop and Sam Houston Tollway in Houston has all the polishers supplies you might care to buy Mike.
Here's a link to Jeff Jewitt's website, forum and online shop where you can bone up on the topic. In case the link doesn't work, here's the URL which you can copy and paste into the address bar.
http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/
Slainte, RJLink to RJFurniture site.
Frank,
Your finishing schedule sounds very good. When staining sapwood to match latewood, the dye is called "sap stain." You'll want to use the appropriate size brush(es), or a touch-up gun/air-brush to apply the dye to the sapwood. Jeff Jewitt should be able to help you with the mixing proportions on mixing the dyes. woodfinishingsupplies.com has a pre-mixed sap stain for both cherry and walnut (listed under stains). Only apply the dye to the sapwood - this will reduce the color difference between it and the latewood. Follow with your oil, shellac, etc.
Filling the grain makes for a high quality look. You're not "over doing it."
You don't say which lacquer you're planning to use, but check with the supplier to make sure it's okay to use it over either oil or shellac. Some catalyzed lacquers are pretty touchy about the base coat.
Post some pictures of the completed project - sounds like a winner!
Frank, on its own new walnut can look just a wee bit cold with only a clear finish. Aniline dyes can add a bit of colour, perhaps a warming brown/red. It's hard to say what will work for you, but a mixture of the dyes you've got can make a big difference. Here's a good mix of full strength dyes that mixed together can make walnut a lot warmer, and allow it to mature nicely to it's classical honied state. Full strength dyes are ones dissolved to full saturation in their solvent----in this case, water.
1.6 L Water, 192 ml Walnut, 32 ml Yellow, 20 ml Red.
Being a quack of one sort or another you'll understand the metric stuff. And starting with 1.6 litres of water is a handy measure. Metric measures in dye or stain mixes are very simple as compared to cumbersome American liquid measure ounces. Starting with 1.6 Litres of plain water means that the formula is always divisible by something, and medical syringes can be brought into play for subtle colour changes if the basic mix isn't quite to your taste.
Anyway, stain the timber first after raising the grain with warm water and knocking back the fuzz lightly with a bit of sanding. Then do the staining, followed by a sealer coat of thinned out polish to the whole piece, perhaps dewaxed shellac. Don't bother filling the grain of all the other parts except the most visible top surface. The purpose of the thinned out polish is to create a barrier, especially on the top that you are going to grain fill. Creating a barrier with the thinned out polish ensures that any dye or stains in the grain filler don't further tint the basic ground colour, which is, incidentally, a desirable effect in certain circumstances, but not here if you want to retain colour consistency throughout the piece. Follow the directions on the can for grain filling if you are using a proprietary filler, let it dry thoroughly and follow up by a very light sanding and polishing the whole piece. I'm not going to get into custom grain fillers using plaster of paris and powder colours to get the right blend.
I'll admit that these suggestions are very foreshortened, but they will, with luck at least point you in the right general direction. And you should end up with tops that look a wee bit like the attached image. If this information is not sufficient to let you proceed further, just ask. You knew that anyway. Slainte, RJ.
Richard,
The table looks good. I have printed off your instructions and ordered the stain. I'll let you know how it goes. How long will the stains keep once mixed?
Thanks for your help.
Frank
How long will the stains keep once mixed?
I've had some fully saturated solutions stored in bottles for about fifteen years. I still use them. I've had the dry powders longer.
Make the solutions with warm water. Distilled water might be advisable, but I've never bothered with this. Half a litre or a pint is a good volume for fully saturated solutions, but a half pint or quarter litre is a good volume too. Dump about two heaped tablespoons of powder dye in the half litre of water. (Sometimes the dry powders come with instructions telling you how much to add to a given volume of water, so you can follow those measurements instead of using my routine. I've never bought dyes with suggested measurements so I've always followed the fully saturated routine for consistency.) Stir, and leave all day. Pour this solution through a coffee filter in a funnel into your storage container, and label it clearly. If it's saturated you should end up with powder left in the bottom of the filter which you can let dry and put back in your powder container. If there's no powder in the filter, it's not a saturated solution, so put it all back in the mixing pot and add some more dye. Go through the filtering routine again until you do get some sludge in the filter. One tip with the funnel if you're using it with a narrow round necked storage jar--- jam a match stick or something between the funnel and the neck of the jar to let air escape. Without this you get a seal that makes it hard for the liquid in funnel to run through. Slainte, RJ.Link to RJFurniture site.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled