Ebonising Beech

[Baldhead]

I remember years ago reading an article in a woodwork magazine about ebonising beech, does anyone know how it is done, and also would I be able to sand it after it's been ebonised?

Baldhead

 

[AndyT]

It's probably not the textbook method but I once made a replacement chess piece for one that was lost and was looking round for an easy way to make it black. I used a decent quality black permanent marker (spirit based ink) and followed it up with black instant shoe cleaner - the sort that comes in a plastic tube with a sponge on the end. It worked brilliantly. Not so good on a larger scale piece though. I wouldn't have sanded it afterwards, but I didn't need to.

 

[MickCheese]

When I needed some small black drawer knobs I just got some black wood dye and applied several coats over a period of a few days sanding between. I had beech handles, so I tried them, it was very successful.

They are still quite black.

Mick

 

[Baldhead]

Thanks guys, during my morning 'soak' I remembered it was Indian Ink which was applied to beech, but I will try your methods too.

Thanks again.

Baldhead

 

[marcros]

I did a sample where I dyed the wood black and added some dye to shellac and put that over the dyed wood. A nice shiny black and getting towards a "piano black"

You almost certainly can't sand after ebonising.

 

[No skills]

I remember reading somewhere that light coloured fruitwoods such as pear are very good for this. Havent tried this myself yet so YMMV.

 

[richarnold]

Old trick from my musical instrument repair days is what we stained the fingerboards with on cellos and violins, I used this method to re ebonize the beech infill on a Norris A5 once and it worked brilliantly. It's not actually a stain as such, more a chemical reaction. Just get some quality permanent black hair color and follow the instructions. It works a treat

 

[Tony Spear]

Just get some quality permanent black hair color and follow the instructions. It works a treat.

It's amazing what can be done using "ordinary household products"!

When my Grandad retired, they moved into a modern(ish) flat and it had a set of open ended shelves which he didn't like at all. I won't get into the detail of how he closed in the ends and fitted it out to have sliding glass shelves - he was a very clever engineer and very good amateur woodworker!

BUT, I do remember commenting on the colour matching of the new wood and the old - and he replied "Gravy Browning"! :shock: