Oak table

[lurker]

I’m currently making a small table to go with an oak chair bought in (made to order) Orkney, last year. I’ve never worked with oak before.

I want the table to be “as planed” Oak. I’m assume that the dark colour of old oak furniture is caused by sunlight & tannin.

I have a number of old Oak planks which are filthy and part rotten, by cutting out and planing down I’ve got a decent plank (50” X 5” X 2”) that’s a nice light colour and quite a decent match for the chair. However after a few days is goes quite “yellow”. I’m assuming this is some contaminant.

Can anyone suggest an Oak Bleach? I’ve experimented on an off cut with Household bleach (stains it darker) and some hairdressers peroxide (no effect).

Now, I could go out and buy some new Oak but want the additional challenge of reclaiming the wood, I was invited to cut up for logs.

Another question : how should I finish it to retain the “newly cut” colour : Wax or Danish oil or what?

 

[Lofty]

Hi Lurker,

I'm not an expert but I have made quite a few things out of oak. I continue to be amazed at how different the colour of oak can be and I have had some which went yellowish. I think in that case the timber was not very well dried and guess that was the reason. I have not tried to change the colour with bleach etc. but I think it would not be very successful. Only my opinion. As you say oak does go darker with time, and sometimes, initially after planing this can be quite quick. I am not sure if this effect is prevented by finishes as most of my furniture is stained quite dark. Recently I made some coffee tables that I wanted to have as natural a look as possible which I guess is what you are looking for. I experimented with various finishes and found that most darken the colour. The one that had the least effect was acrylic varnish. In the end I used Danish oil. Now whether this will stop the colour darkening over time I am not sure. Time will tell!

I guess this doesn't answer your question but hopefully it will be of some help.

Lofty

 

[Chris Knight]

Lurker,
Could you please be a bit more precise as to what you want to achieve?

I infer that you wish to bleach out a yellow coloration, that you want the look of "newly cut" wood and I presume you chair looks like this?

Old oak may be dark for a number of reasons, deliberate staining or fuming and dirt are the most likely causes.
Pictures would help.

 

[gavin e]

If you want to bleach oak then you should use a two part wood bleach. This is available in most hardware shops. Rustins works well.

To use, you first apply the 'a' bleach, then the 'b' bleach about twenty minutes later. Don't panic when the wood goes darker first! Really really wear protective clothing, as the stuff burns like hell if it gets on your skin.

One drawback with bleaching oak is that it does tend to make the surface timber a bit like blotting paper, so i'd strongly advise that you do a test piece with bleach and then make sure you stain and finish it like you intend to stain and finish your table to ensure it does what you want.

Please read the pamphlet in the bleach packet re safety tips and follow the advice given - it really can be quite nasty stuff.

Take care and good luck

 

[lurker]

Waterhead,

Yes I want as planed finish.

Gavin,

Not come across wood bleach, so will investigate that one - thanks for warnings!

I've now planed up a few other planks (have about 20) and some discolour differently. Hopefully I can find enough, decent enough.

So.......... assuming I get good wood - what finish?

Bear in mind this is my first attempt at Oak furniture, so I'd be grateful of chapter & verse

 

[Chris Knight]

Lurker,
There are three kinds of readily available bleach for wood - you've tried the least used one - household bleach. Actually for wood it is usually made up from sodium hypchlorite - same stuff basically though.

A very popular one is oxalic acid, often sold as wood bleach and can be found in places like B&Q some of the time. This is used to get stains out of wood caused by eg wet iron on oak or some fungi.

The third is the two part bleach mentioned by gavin. One part is sodium hydroxide (caustic soda - which is why it burns!), the other part is strong hydrogen peroxide. This bleach will bleach the native colour from wood as well as things that have discoloured it. You can bleach mahogany paper white for example. Two small applications with drying in between have much more effect than one big application. This kind of bleach is mostly available from specialist wood finishing suppliers like Morrells, Jenkins, Mylands etc. The parts may be termed Parts A&B or Parts 1&2 depending on the supplier.

 

[lurker]

Chris,

Thanks for your advice. offering chemical names helps me lots

Was thinking of NaOH next. any idea if this is any good on its own - why does the two part follow it up with Hydrogen peroxide?

As I say I tried Peroxide but maybe it was too weak. Its difficult to get now after the london bombers used this in their "mix". people give you funny looks if you ask for it.

My plan is to make the table top & hope the colour is OK but I want a fall back plan.

 

[Chris Knight]

Lurker.
I have never tried caustic on its own for bleaching. It can make wood look darker - especially cherry. This page might be useful http://antiquerestorers.com/Articles/je ... bleach.htm

 

[lurker]

Chris,

Thanks for that, just what I needed

Jim

 

[gavin e]

re caustic soda.

Don't put it on oak before testing!!!!

The chances are it'll make it go as black as your average mineshaft.

 

[Wanlock Dod]

One part is sodium hydroxide (caustic soda - which is why it burns!), the other part is strong hydrogen peroxide.

Hydrogen peroxide burns as well :shock:

Clearly Gavin was right, keep those gloves on.

Cheers, Dod