Ebonizing Wood: Why it's worth it. How to do it.

Link to Quebracho bark powder page on shellac.net: www.shellac.ne...
Affiliate links:
0000 Untreated Steel Wool: amzn.to/3Z22Pm9
Condiment Bottles: amzn.to/3Ejwsr4
Foam Brushes in assorted sizes: amzn.to/3IBaxyd

[@joeleonetti8976]

Thanks for sharing. I enjoy your videos. Your timing is near perfect. I started researching ebonizing wood this week for a project I plan to start in 2024 (have wood for next three projects in shop and need to finish those first). I have some leg parts I wanted black and I didn't want to use ebony for all the reasons you mentioned. There is a good Fine Woodworking article by Michael Robbins in issue 275 (May/Jun 2019(. In it, the one helpful tip I saw addresses the surface tension. He adds a drop of dishwashing soap to the solution.

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

Good tip!

[@cluek9780]

Yes, any surfactant should help penetration. Wonder where I could get a tiny amount of the surfactant added to crop sprayers? It makes water *amazingly “wetter”

[@willardglace1469]

Using a couple of small glass bowl to contain a small amount of the solution to wet the sponge in would be a lot easier.

[@simontayler2158]

magic

[@steverochon1620]

Does this tea work any better/differently than tannic powder? I haven't found info on high risks associated with inhaling tannic acid powder, although it's best practice to not be snorting anything that's a powder. Now, should we discuss your cinnamon sniffing habit? I can recommend a good 12 step program, and it does not involve coming down slowly with nutmeg.

[@chairsofhonor]

Awesome Video, is there any reason you can't ebonize parts before a glue up? Will it affect glue adhesion or holding power?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I always ebonize parts before glue-up. I suspect it doesn't affect glue adhesion but I don't dare risk it. I try to keep gluing surfaces unebonized.

[@skwalka6372]

Quebracho is a South American extremely hard wood, reminiscent of ibei and African ironwoods. It is deep red-brown in color and was used until the early 20th Century for the production of tannin for the leather industry and for railway sleepers. The huge quebracho forests in Argentina were driven to extinction by the unregulated tannin industry, but the good news is there are many thousands of miles of railway tracks with quebracho sleepers, which neither rot nor decay. :)

[@upshiftgo]

What is a railway sleeper?

[@EngineerMikeF]

I'm anxiously waiting for your episode on traditional woodworking uses of heroin & cobra venom. Thanks in advance.

[@eclecticapoetica]

😂😂😂

[@JimPudar]

Really loving your channel - it’s going to get huge really fast 😊 Will definitely be trying this soon, I do love using real ebony but you aren’t kidding on the cost.

[@timdoyon1964]

I just liked and subscribed. This was an amazing video… I love learning new things, and I’ve never seen this process before. I can’t wait to try it! Thanks for sharing!

[@dudehjd]

This is one of the best channels I’ve seen in years. Please continue your work, the community’s signal to noise ratio goes up with every one of your videos

[@jsmxwll]

I've never tried those tea leaves, but if you decoct a high tanin wood and it works pretty well. I use oak sawdust and plane shavings put through a coffee grinder and then boiled and sieved through a coffee filter. I usually apply the decocted tanin liquid with some 220 wet/dry sandpaper when I'm working on oak. It fills the poors pretty well. I work mostly with red oak and don't have much experience ebonizing woods other than oak, cedar and pine. Works pretty well, but I think that tea still has more tanin and looks like less work. Gonna give that a shot. Have you tried decocting that quebracho bark powder into a more concentrated form? I was thinking it probably isn't worth the effort unless maybe time was a factor, but if you haven't tried it, I'll give it a try and see what difference, if any, it makes. Great video! Thanks for the effort. You keep getting better and better.

[@yamahaxt652]

Oh lord. You said cinnamon. Hopefully those TikTokers don’t try the Quebracho challenge. 😮😳

[@grendelum]

so ebonizing is basically the same reaction as iron gall ink… a soluble iron salt in the +2 oxidation state reacts with the tannic acid and air to oxidize to the +3 state, neat. curious if you could just use a ferrous sulfate solution (readily available as fertilizer) and skip the steel wool mess.

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I don't find the steel wool solution to be any more messy than any other finishing product so I'm not all that motivated to try, but if you try the ferrous sulfate, I'd love to know how it goes.

[@cluek9780]

Wow, I, too, will want to know how your experiment goes!!

[@andyhastings5950]

The steel vinegar solution can be bought from chemical supplers. But you need to use the true chemical name.. Ferric Acetate. Vinegar is week acedic acid..

[@daydaymarceaux]

I learned the hard way not to get the rust solution on your hands... It dries them out very quickly and they crack and hurt

[@martinoamello3017]

I've concocted a few samples of vinegar and steel wool that turned really close to black in the past basically through evaporation when I left a jarful open for too long although it will create more rust powder on the initial surface... I'm not quite sure I want to risk breathing in more dangerous junk since when I started working quite some time back safety pretty much consisted of: Don't catch yourself on fire and don't cost the boss any money. I spend years spray painting for a living and my nervous system knows it well.. Still, pretty darn slick!

[@mattelias721]

Great video, probably the most thorough on ebonizing I've seen. I'd add to the comment discussion that regular Lipton tea works for me, so you might be able to avoid that lung hazard. Also, I've found it's pretty important to put some kind of finish on the work as soon as possible - I've had components ebonized and waiting on me that once the next weekend rolled around, they'd literally rusted. No reapplication could save them, either. Shellac is great to seal the reaction, and if I'm having a great work-flow day, I can even hit my stuff with a HVLP coat of lacquer.

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

Dewaxed shellac is one of my favorite things.

[@upshiftgo]

Takes OCD to recognize OCD

[@rodneykiemele4721]

Excellent video, thank you much. Never knew about the tea, great tip.

[@andrewkonopitski7939]

I have absolutely no idea how I haven't stumbled across your channel until today. This content rivals the best stuff out there! I will now proceed to binge the entire channel. Keep coming with the great content

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@michaeldean2053]

Thank you. When you were showing some of your pieces in your other videos, I was wondering what your method was and now we all know.

[@airnashville3883]

Thanks RC! I made a nice reproduction of a federal style game table about 18 years ago and I did the ebonizing using a pure Monteblanc black ink and they have turned lighter over the years. Thanks for taking the time to make this video.

[@GrizzCraftCustoms]

Hello. Really appreciate your content! What ratio of white vinegar to 0000 steel wool did you use for your iron concoction, and did you do anything else besides adding the two together (e.g. rinsing the steel wool in laquer thinner etc)? Thanks again!

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I'm very non-scientific about it. I just stuff a bunch of steel wool in the bottle of vinegar until it looks right. It should dissolve entirely in a couple weeks. If it doesn't, I start over with a different brand of steel wool, as I'm both lazy and don't trust the degreaser to get it all.

[@DefenderPlaysGuitar]

Loving the videos! Gonna try this instead of bog oak

[@nathanbivalacqua3240]

Thanks for bringing this to my attention, I have a project that will be greatly improved using this method, but how do you get rid of that horrible vinegar smell?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

It goes away once coated with shellac or Danish oil.

[@victoryak86]

Of the woods you mentioned is any one better in particular or do you just consider the grain pattern (I guess in this case texture). Great video and channel. Glad to have found it.

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

Of all the woods I mentioned using, walnut has become my go-to for ebonizing.

[@77barree]

Thanks for the great tips can't wait to try it out.

[@nmssis]

Thanks for the clip. I have never seen raw Ebony before...but which wood has a similar grain as Ebony?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I haven't worked with ebony enough to feel qualified to answer that, I'm afraid.

[@jcinsaniac]

How would this work for furniture grade plywood? I am building an arcade cabinet and thought about ebonizing it instead of paint or laminate. The ply I am using has a nice grain on the finished sides, I think this might turn out well, but I am concerned about long term odor - is that a problem?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I would definitely do a test piece first. I'm guessing the surface veneer is too light and would absorb the solutions unevenly, but you never know until you try. It hardly smells at all once dried completely and there's zero smell once top coated with a clear finish or wax, which I'd absolutely do in all cases.

[@ladykay8]

Once this has been ebonized, can you finish it with something like Rubio Monocoat or varnish?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

Sure can. In fact, I'd be hesitant to *not* too coat it with something.

[@ashooby]

Hey do you happen to know how this would affect Acacia wood? Will it produce as rich of a black color?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I've never worked with Acacia. Better do a test piece to see how it goes before committing fully.

[@guniopoyuki6544]

Could this be used to finish a countertop in the kitchen? Or is it toxic? Also would it hold up under use as long as it was not used as a cutting board?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

It depends entirely on whether and what you top coat it with. I personally would never leave a raw, ebonized surface uncoated with another, more protective finish.

[@dirdick43]

good info and good humor

[@jimcarter4929]

Fascinating, thanks.

[@gregorypennell1755]

Nice video, and well explained. I use the iron acetate (vinegar mix) to stain curly maple long rifle stocks…I’ve yet to find anything that brings out the figure as well.

[@Paul-mx2yj]

Just found your channel. Love your approach to so little talk about safety. Just enough!!! Your tutoring on tannins was incredible.

[@janegardener1662]

You have a nice voice--you would be a great narrator for audiobooks! I liked the video, too. I'm thinking of ebonizing a desk.

[@philaandrew100]

I will give this method a try. I have been using Aniline dye to darken Makassar Ebony Fretboards for years. Bloody messy and if you don't lock it in with CA glue it bleeds out... Funny how only the Goth Metal Guitarists were the only guys that didn't complain🤣

[@samsheppard5102]

Is this ebonizing food safe after curing?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I have no idea, but I wouldn't risk it.

[@MarkLatour]

Back in the 80's I refinished lots of oak plant stands and shelves that had black stains due to iron bearing seepage from flower pots. I used a hot solution of oxalic acid (derived from rhubarb leaves way back in the day, and toxic) so if you sand the surface wear a mask and avoid breathing the dust. I get a small bottle of it in crystal form from the local pharmacy, and a teaspoon in a teacup of hot water is good to do the job. Works like magic. Also, in my shop I poured a small amount into a very shallow dish to dip my foam brushes.

[@thwwoodcraft1449]

Nice tutorial. Another reason to not buy ebony is the wax-encased small stock we find at retail sale is not dry, and won't be ready for use for at least a year. Try to accelerate that time by scraping off the wax will result in deep cracking. I happened to have the pleasure of milling some years old Gaboon Ebony today, first time in many years. What a treasure it is....... well, was I guess.

[@pmelchman]

used the links and I am now cooking up the vinegar / steel wool solution. I have a hit or miss experience with squeeze bottles. Rockler bottles leak like a sieve. So much so I threw them in the trash. I did purchase the bottles you recommend and I can say they do not leak.

[@uriel-heavensguardian8949]

Awesome video sir!!!!!!

[@eclecticapoetica]

use a couple of small glass bowls to contain the tannin and tea, no mess.

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I like that idea for during the application process but then I can't save the rest of the solution for later nearly as easy.

[@brandtl1486]

Having done this same ebonizing on Douglas fir, I can attest that it does indeed turn it pitch black. I too used a tea before hand on the wood, and I am not sure it did anything, but it was just a grocery store tea. Some of the fir for reasons I don’t understand turned a dark green and the odd piece really didn’t turn black much at all. One would just toss the off colour stuff.

[@TheGoldenHorde]

Thank you for sharing. I will give this a try. Do you think using ebonized wood is safe to use for furniture meant to be in a house with toddlers?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I think it would depend on what you use as a topcoat, and whether said toddlers are predisposed to eating furniture.

[@TheGoldenHorde]

@@themountaintopjoinersshop8422 Thank you so much, wishing you much happiness and success :)

[@jasontofini3412]

This is the wood equivalent of cold blue/selenium dioxide for steel. Nice

[@coallaoc]

hi. I live right on the seashore, in India, which means monsoons, salt water even in the air, high ultraviolet light and a bunch of termites. I wonder how it works in an environment like this?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I think the ebonizing will hold its color better under UV exposure than a lot of dyes and paints would. As for the other stuff, I can't say.

[@coallaoc]

@@themountaintopjoinersshop8422 that due to the fact that the metal is transferred to wood - will there be no oxidation process with salt (rust)?

[@michealhand1001]

Hello MJoiner can man made sheets of 8by4 of plywood ,chipboard,Mdf,OSB, be ebonised?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

My guess is it wouldn't work well enough to be worth the effort, especially with OSB and MDF which have a ton of glue/binders in them that might inhibit absorption of the solutions.

[@mattelias721]

I've been doing an office reno project with built-ins made of oak veneer ply (the stuff off the orange box store rack). It takes the ebonizing just fine, and the solid oak edge banding I apply consistently matches the field of plywood surface. Glue cleanup is, however, essential. I will also say that based on the mess I've made of my MDF-topped assembly table, yes, MDF will take this very, very well. I doubt OSB or chipboard would, though. Regular plywood will ebonize equally as well as pine - light, inconsistent, and with the huge swaths of sapwood. Hope this helps.

[@SpartanORGN]

@@mattelias721thanks I was questioning how it would turn out with mdf. I'd assume it would soak it up like crazy. Might give that a shot.

[@howardsmith5474]

Does ebonized wood take glue at all?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I haven't torture tested a sample joint or anything but takes glue almost as easily as bare wood as far as I can tell.

[@mmmdesignllc]

Just found your channel. Love it!!!

[@ehRalph]

I’ve been looking for a good ebonizing process

[@TomDanaher]

I love when you share these tips. Great video will definitely use this in the future.

[@michaelwiczer9805]

Thanks, about to give this a try!

[@simonstuhl4170]

Have you built another saw bench for your , right handed sawing? How about, if you do, incorporate some Bugatti design with ebonizing accents?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

It hasn't bothered me enough to build a right handed version.

[@mikemonday2442]

Very nice video, very helpful…thank you! I’m about to experiment with WO but would like clarification on top coats….you said you applied dewaxed shellac and then poly? Can this staining process take poly directly? Or maybe lacquer?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I imagine you could use any top coat, but it's always a good idea to do a test piece with what you have in mind so there are no unpleasant surprises.

[@toddwheeler1526]

You can easily cure the surface tension/ solution penetration problem by simply adding a drop of dish soap to the tea. Surfactant, surface active agent. Allows the solution to overcome the repelancy of oils, grease, wax etc.

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

Someone else here mentioned that, and I've since added a few drops. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@thomasnichols7788]

Excellent site, thanks for sharing. I love to ebonize but instead of the you use I make a strong black tea straight from the store tea bags. Have you tried that and is there an appreciable difference in the result? Thank you.

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I haven't tried regular black tea. I went straight for the maximum tannin content from the get-go.

[@T3WPL3R]

Hey! Thanks for the info, but whats the quebracho tea for? Is it necessary o can you do it with only vinegar en steel wool?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

The quebracho adds extra tannin to the wood for the iron solution to blacken. It isn't absolutely necessary in every case, but will give better results more quickly in almost every case.

[@steverochon1620]

I've tried this and it works great! Thanks for the suggestion. Instead of the tea, however, I used tannin powder used for dying leather, which didn't come with the stern precautions. You now have me wondering if I could experiment with this combo to give some woods a light brown finish, similar to fuming white oak, without the noxious fumes from ammonia.

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

Haven't tried the tannin powder. Thanks for the alternative suggestion.

[@evelyngorfram9306]

Great results, & good demonstration & video. Would it help to wet the applicator sponges in water before trying to persuade them to take up the solutions?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

Perhaps, but I wouldn't want to water down the solution any further.

[@_BigLife_]

Thank you for the informative video. I will be trying this next month. When I do try this, will it be okay with you if I mention this video and leave a link in my discretion?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

Go ahead!

[@bmacaulay18]

Have you tried using Rubio Monocoat over the ebonized wood?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I have not, but don't see why it wouldn't work, as other waxes I've tried work fine. Nevertheless, it's never a bad idea to do a test piece to be sure.

[@bmacaulay18]

@@themountaintopjoinersshop8422 Ill have to see how that goes. Rubio Monocoat says use on raw wood on the labeling. Guess I need to go get some vinegar next. 😂🤣😂🤣🙂

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

Let me know how it goes. I haven't tried Rubio Monocoat but I know it's popular.

[@iamdaspeed]

This is wonderful. Thank you so much. I have a could of mid century modern end tables and coffee tables that would look good with this application. How would I prep the wood?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I wouldn't prep you wood any differently than normal except sanding no higher than 220 grit. Polished/burnished surfaces *might* ebonize fine, but they're less likely to.

[@Mark_Wood]

Loved the Ninja bit

[@CantEatFlutes]

"Like a ninja listening to black metal" and "Sucks the light out of the room like an off colour joke at a funeral" were incredible jokes

[@dominikkusl3786]

Thank You :-)

[@sculptureflame68]

Great video!

[@genedeahl7453]

Great job

[@andrea.adhdhouse]

I definitely want to try this! Will this work on pine? I have a pine table made by a family member that needs to be refinished. If this isn’t a good technique for pine, is there another way I could update table? Great video! Thanks!

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

Not sure you'll get satisfactory results with pine. I'd definitely do a test piece to make sure. Failing that, I personally would look for a paint option I like. If you're looking for something less hazardous, lately I've been using shelf stable milk paints from Sinopia Pigments. They need to be watered down/applied in multiple thin coats, sanded, and top coated, but the results are hard to beat. Their black is the next best thing to ebonizing, IMO, perhaps just a bit more labor intensive to apply. Again, a test piece is a good idea to see if you like it first.

[@andrea.adhdhouse]

@@themountaintopjoinersshop8422 Thank you so much!

[@dpmeyer4867]

Cool

[@THANATOSIXU]

Ooh i wonder how well this would would with ash?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I haven't tried it with ash, but if you try it, I'd recommend trying it on a little piece of scrap first to see how it goes.

[@pmelchman]

Is it really necessary to tape off where glue will be applied?

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I don't think so, but I often tape where my location marks are written so I don't accidentally ebonize over them and can't tell which part goes where later on.

[@pmelchman]

@@themountaintopjoinersshop8422 I will say I followed your video and the results are the blackest black. I did 3 coats . You were spot… sometimes the tea likes to puddle…. I am doing an experiment with glue before moving forward with my humidor project

[@mikamajlund3622]

Has you used pure water to make the Tea from, its penetrering easyer

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

The tea is made from water from the tap. I haven't tried it with distilled water or anything.

[@mikamajlund3622]

@@themountaintopjoinersshop8422 you has an exelent chanel thanx 👍

[@TwistingWays]

This was so useful! Thank you. Can you use beeswax polish as the finish? I prefer that to other finishes, but I was worried it would mess up the ebonizing.

[@themountaintopjoinersshop8422]

I don't see any reason why not, but as always with finishing, the best way to be sure is to make a small test sample and see how it goes before commiting to the same technique on a full blown furniture project.