WIP

[SteveF]

this ones on hold until i get a longer tool rest
lump of oak i had laying around
size is 8" x 5"
plenty of cracks
filled with ca and sawdust as i go
hope it will hold together as has that hollow ring to it :-(

Steve

i intend to use a black spirit stain on outside with gilt cream..any thoughts ?

 

[marcros]

i have just done a piece of elm with black dye (Isopropanol as solvent), a coat of sanding sealer, gilt cream and then wiped off the excess with hard wax oil. Worked well, leaving the gold in the grain of the elm.

 

[Dalboy]

Looking good so far Steve Oak is a good wood to try the stain and gilt cream on. Looking forward to the finished bowl

 

[SteveF]

do the spirit stains need thinning as never used before
what black dye did u use marcos ?

Steve

 

[marcros]

i used transtint but, I dont think you can get it over here. It has some good properties, such as being UV light fast and soluble in either water or spirit, but i think that any spirit dye or stain would do, based on reading up about the process.

I didnt measure it- i put a bit of alcohol in a plastic cup, and a small squirt of dye in. if you have some that is ready mixed, I would just use it, or follow the instruction on the can. I cant see it making a difference whether it is a pigmented stain, or a dye. The idea is to create a contrast. The course grain will be filled with the gilt cream.

If I had cellulose sealer, I would have used that, but i only had a bit of thinned shellac. it didnt seem to lift the colour at all.

 

[Dalboy]

do the spirit stains need thinning as never used before
what black dye did u use marcos ?

Steve

If it is something like chestnut spirit stains just apply as is, either use a piece of rag and wipe it on or you can use a brush

 

[Bodrighy]

If you are using wood that has possible splits get the outside done to shape then wrap in cling film before tackling the inside. It'll hold it together while hollowing out then you can sort out any splits as you have been doing without the danger of it flying apart as you hollow

Pete

 

[KimG]

With spirit stains it would depend on what you wanted the end result to be as regards thinning, I have used them thinned several times to get a pale version of a colour. Also you get more interesting results by mixing the colours, either in a pot or on the piece itself, you can of course also thin any mixed colour too to give a more washed out rather than a heavy colour effect.

Although you can get away with a suck it and see approach to colouring (usually by repeated applications of different colours which soon turn dark and muddy if you are not careful) it is always best to have some idea as to what you want the end result to look like and work towards that, then you will be less likely to overdo it and will know when to leave it be.

Using the colours straight from the pot on their own can work, but often this tends to look a little plain and flat, practice blending a two or three different colours across a piece to increase the interest, use any features like feathering or spalted bits, these can be a contrasting colour.

Thin the stain with Meths, I use IDA (industrial denatured alcohol) as it is clear, but I doubt the purple colour of shop bought meths would influence the stain colour in a noticeable way.

 

[KimG]

Having posted all that I see you are doing it black (I should have read it more carefully! ) instead of staining (which I did recently with a little Oak pot) you could try using the Oak's natural tannin to colour it, although I am not certain of how best to approach that, it could look a bit more interesting, and if it didn't work too well, you could always stain it afterwards. I would not thin the stain at all if you wanted a black finish though. The black stain alone is not likely to completely hide the grain, the silver grain in particular will still stand out as it absorbs very little colour, if you wanted a totally black bowl then I would suggest finishing it off with ebonizing lacquer.

 

[Bodrighy]

To stain oak black naturally keep a pot of lemon juice in the workshop with some wire wool in it. As Kim hinted at it reacts with the tannin in the oak and stains black. It can be rubbed back to give a lighter colour. You can use vinegar instead of lemon juice but the smell can linger.

Pete

 

[SteveF]

thankyou Kim & Pete

most interesting read

because of the gold gilt i thought black would be best option
i will play with the offcut first
i like the tanning idea
and will remember the clingfilm

Steve

 

[gregmcateer]

If you are using wood that has possible splits get the outside done to shape then wrap in cling film before tackling the inside. It'll hold it together while hollowing out then you can sort out any splits as you have been doing without the danger of it flying apart as you hollow

Pete

Good tip =D> - I'll make a mental note of that one!

 

[SteveF]

sorry more questions
if i want the stain to go to the lip, but not past it:
do i need to seal the unstained part to stop bleeding ?
do you use a sanding sealer first on the stained part ?

Steve

 

[YewTube]

Finish the outside as much as you can and then take a final cut to clean up the rim.

Bill

 

[marcros]

if you want to just fill the grain, use a sanding sealer over the stain.

 

[J-G]

if you want to just fill the grain, use a sanding sealer over the stain.

According to Chestnut, Sanding Sealer is not a grain filler, it just stabilizes the fibers.

To fill the grain you need 'Grain Filler' #-o - I use Rustin's but there may be other manufacturers, I just haven't found any.

 

[marcros]

if you want to just fill the grain, use a sanding sealer over the stain.

According to Chestnut, Sanding Sealer is not a grain filler, it just stabilizes the fibers.

To fill the grain you need 'Grain Filler' #-o - I use Rustin's but there may be other manufacturers, I just haven't found any.

Sorry, I will expand on my post...

If you want to just fill the grain with the gilt cream (rather than cover the entire piece in gilt cream), use a sanding sealer over the stain and the gilt cream over. In this case, the sanding sealer is used as a sealer rather than as a stalilizer. I have only used it on flat wood, but when dried, you then remove the excess by rubbing across the grain with a mineral spirit based oil- I used Chestnut hard wax oil but that or Danish oil were recommended on the instructions that I saw. On a bowl, you may just have to watch the grain direction change.

I used the gilt cream on both unstained elm and black dyed elm. IMHO, it needs the stain/dye for contrast- the effect on the unstained was disappointing. I also quickly tried some on a piece of oak veneer- cut out a simple shame, gilted it and put it back on. Again, the contrast and effect were disappointing.

 

[J-G]

if you want to just fill the grain, use a sanding sealer over the stain.

According to Chestnut, Sanding Sealer is not a grain filler, it just stabilizes the fibers.

Sorry, I will expand on my post...

If you want to just fill the grain with the gilt cream.

I should have picked up the 'Gilt cream' issue but at least my blundering post gave you the opportunity to explain further.

 

[SteveF]

oh well !!

firewood...it just kept splitting
i have another lump so will try again

Steve

 

[finneyb]

Assuming that you don't have uniform thickness and that's why you are waiting for a new toolrest. I would bag/clingfilm that bowl on the lathe to seal it against moisture loss in case it dries and splits with the delay.

Just my 2p worth

Brian