Woodturning: Turning a Box Elder Mushroom and Dyeing it with Household Food Coloring

In my first video following shoulder surgery, I’m keeping it simple! I turned a cute little mushroom and dyed it using food coloring and shellac, and food coloring diluted with denatured alcohol.
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DISCLAIMER: My videos are not meant to be instructional videos. I am still learning and am in no way trying to present a teaching video - my channel is classified as Entertainment. Do I hope you get something useful? Sure! Do I think you can learn from my successes, failures, and mistakes? Yep!
However, you are responsible for your own safety! Wearing long sleeves, gloves, or jewelry around machinery is not recommended and can be dangerous!

[@mpart_woodlathe-stuff]

She's baack folks ! Yaay ! Good to hear your voice again. Sure doesn't sound, or look, like like you've been off recuperating. The 2nd one came out pretty good with its nice shiney brown-ness. Take care. -Mike

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Mike! The red one (which wasn't included in this video - I'll save it for an emergency 🤣) came out pretty well. I actually like the brown, the sanding back and reapplying gives it a nice depth 😃

[@mpart_woodlathe-stuff]

@@LisaRamlow 👍😎

[@noahcount7132]

It's great that your shoulder has healed and is once again properly functional, Lisa. Take care to keep it that way. 👍

[@LisaRamlow]

Hi Noah! Well it's mostly functional - have a lot of PT to do in order to get back to a normal range of motion but I'm working hard on it! They say shoulder surgery is one of the hardest to recover from because the joint is relatively unstable naturally, and can take 9 months to fully heal 😳

[@dalekuhlman1009]

I’m glad to see you up and about. It was a pleasure to see you turning again.

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Dale I'm glad to be back!

[@amandatallis9875]

Hello Lisa nice to see you back and you've not lost your touch the Box Elder mushroom is magnificent and unique well turned. Hope physiotherapy goes well and that your shoulder gets stronger and feels better. Missed your videos all the best Amanda xxxx

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Amanda! Have a couple more videos I'm editing so another will be done soon! 😃

[@jackburton6085]

Glad to hear you’re on the mend Lisa! And stoked you’re doin vids again! Thanks for sharing and looking forward to more! ✌️❤️🍻🖖

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Jack I appreciate the support! 😃

[@-Deena.]

Great to have back to hang out with 🧡

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Deena it's great to be back!

[@andreamassari9099]

Welcome back! Glad you're healing well. 😊 Good luck with PT. And I see that Bailey is as handsome as ever 🤩

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Andrea! And Bailey sez he appreciates you noticing his handsomeness cuz nobody around here EVER tells him that, he's so neglected and unappreciated 🤣 He's really starting to get white in the face - his eyelashes have turned and the edges of his velvety chestnut ears are going white 🥺

[@andreamassari9099]

@@LisaRamlow Handsome *and* mature! Lolol! ,😃

[@bigboy9706]

Woo hoo your back. This is good news. Good luck with PT. I'm going through PT to get my muscle strength back from all my health issues making me weak from being in the hospital for months at a time. Yes 7 weeks is too long. I like smoking food on my Pellet Smoker and I haven't been able to do that for like 5 months. My wife does it for me when we do smoke things. It turned out awesome.

[@LisaRamlow]

Hi Michael! Sorry you've been having health issues, that's no fun at all!

[@hayesrutherford9415]

I like being able to watch someone else experiment! Never have used food coloring but have lightfast powdered dyes in the 3 primary colors. I mix in the little garnish cups you can get at a restaurant supply. They are cheap and no problems with alcohol and shellac.

[@LisaRamlow]

I've used water based TransFast (I think that's the name of the powdered dyes, either that or TransTint) in turquoise but haven't tried any of the others yet. I'm going to start using dye more in my work so will test out some of the different options and water vs alcohol soluble etc. Good idea on the garnish cups - I reuse all my little yogurt containers and things trying to recycle as much as I can but those are a good size. I'll probably get some and I bet I can wash them out and reuse them too 👍

[@hayesrutherford9415]

I use toothpicks to transfer small amounts to alcohol getting the color, then add about 10% blond shellac. Sets fast.@@LisaRamlow

[@crystalswenson8844]

Welcome back, Lisa. I missed you and Bailey!

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Crystal, it's nice to be missed😊. Hope you're managing thru the crazy weather!

[@pauldodge9707]

Welcome back you were missed.

[@LisaRamlow]

Thank you Paul, I appreciate that! It's great to be back 😃

[@alinmayerthorpe7801]

Nice to see you back Lisa, and that was interesting doing the different colors! Well done and thanks! Cheers Al

[@LisaRamlow]

Thank you Al! Cheers!

[@jackthompson5092]

Beautiful Lisa.

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Jack!

[@cookiescoop6065]

Glad to see you are doing good 👍 have a great day

[@LisaRamlow]

Thank you, I'm glad to be able to get back in the shop 😁

[@valeriehenschel1590]

Lemon juice or other citrus is great for removing dyes and plant residue from skin. Hope the therapy goes well. Golden tone woods act like yellow dye when adding color. So blue goes green, red goes orange. So you added green and orange which equals brown.

[@LisaRamlow]

Hi Valerie! That's really interesting. The boxelder is a pretty pale wood - I wouldn't have thought it would influence the end color that much. The red one I did turned out really nice - I may try mixing the food colors in either more alcohol or water first to get an actual purple dye and the try. Might still get brown but now I'm curious! Thanks for the info!

[@glennprovenzano1837]

Good to see you doing good

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Glenn! I recorded this a week or so ago and today's PT was pretty rough - I have a long way to go before I can get my range of motion back but I'm working hard on it!

[@victorprimack2070]

Nice to see you back!!

[@LisaRamlow]

Hey, thanks Victor I'm glad to be back! 😃

[@randy9293]

Welcome back!!🎉

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Randy!

[@CiCis_Mom]

Glad you're doing better! PT can be rough ;) Almost as rough as Bailey thinks listening to the Vitamix is 😁 Take your time and don't push it too hard

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Elizabeth! PT was definitely rough today - I've been going for a week now and they are very happy with my progress but it's slow, particularly on the external rotation part. Those muscles got all kinds of atrophied and tight! But imma keep working on it cuz I don't ever want to have to do this again! 🤣

[@jayscott306]

Oh, it's good to watch you work again, Lisa! Nice mushrooms. Loved the colour. I've had my food colouring mixing experiments that seemed to defy logic, but I like your serendipitous results. Been awhile since I've used shine juice. I feel like it fades too much over time. And I know you won't take it personal that I think the focus people spend on the rare circumstances that could lead to a BLO spontaneous combustion might be better focused on other areas of safety. Not that an ounce of fire prevention ever hurt, just a lot of areas so many folks overlook. Now I've gone from irresponsible to safety police on one thought. :) I hope your physio goes well and thanks for the Bailey clip.

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Jay! I try not to get too into the weeds in the safety stuff since I break several rules regularly (long sleeves & gloves) but I hear you! Still not sold on a finish for dyed wood regardless the method of dyeing, but I'm all about quick and on the lathe finishes if at all possible.

[@annlaurie1484]

Good to see you back and turning again, that thumb is going to take a while to revert to normal! 😅😅

[@LisaRamlow]

Right!? It was that color for days 🤣

[@saidchoucair9247]

Lisa, nice solution... Big hug from Brasil Said Choucair

[@LisaRamlow]

Thank you, I appreciate it!

[@saidchoucair9247]

@@LisaRamlow Dear Lisa, I really like doing these experiments with different products, to color the wooden pieces. As a suggestion, mix the food coloring with the water-based sealer. I spoke to a technical assistant from a large wood paint company, in Brazil, Sayerlack, and he informed me that I could add alcohol without water, to dilute the pigment, as pigments in a bucket of water have alcohol in their composition. Here's a suggestion, I would like to thank you for your kindness in sharing your art with your followers. Big hug from Brazil @choucair.said

[@RightHandShot]

Happy new year, welcome back.

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks and Happy new year!

[@franwilson2097]

hey Lisa,thought you died,glad you back,happy new year to you and yours,be well and healthy

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Fran! PT is making me think I've died, but I'm pushing through!

[@shannonclancy667]

Glad your all healed up Lisa ! I’m wondering if you added the colour one at a time over top of each other, maybe that would give you the purple you were looking for? Still a cute brown mushroom though!

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Shannon! I have a lot of PT to get through but at least I'm able to do things again! I think it might've come out purple if I'd mixed the red and blue into more alcohol or water first, but I actually love the way the brown came out 🤣

[@robohippy]

I didn't know that you had been on the injured reserve lists for a bit. Hope you heal up well, and soon..... With the food dyes, I am thinking that maybe the wood might have caused some problems, mostly with adding to the colors. Also, I wonder if just applying one dye to the wood first, and then the second color after might have made it more purple....

[@LisaRamlow]

Hey Reed! I did a sunburst bowl with food coloring a couple of years ago and it came out great. Lost the edited video somehow 😖 but I used Aspen and diluted the color down a little further. The boxelder absorbed it a bit unevenly (in addition to my not applying it particularly evenly) but I actually really like how it turned out in the end! I did a red one too and that's pretty cool. My mom's bowl still looks great, vibrant and doesn't seem to have faded so it's a viable option, though there are certainly better ones out there. Hope you're doing well!

[@drdrums1]

Yay, I'd been missing your videos! Hadn't seen food coloring used to dye wood before. There's another channel I watch of a guitar builder who uses leather dyes and seems to get good results. How stable are the food colors over time?

[@LisaRamlow]

Hey there! I would say once sealed with finish they seem to be great. I did a sunburst bowl for my mom a couple of years ago with food coloring and it still looks great - quite vibrant. There are certainly other and better/more consistent ways to dye wood but this does work, is super cheap, safe enough that we ingest it, and readily available. I think if I'd diluted it with more alcohol and done more coats it would've been a smoother color but I actually really like it now that it's done 👍

[@lilliekelly3406]

Would it make a more purple color if you mix it with a little bit of clear or white wax since the wax would be more like icing?

[@LisaRamlow]

Hi Lillie! I think I should've diluted it in more alcohol to really get a specific color, thinking about how just a few drop of coloring will dye a whole bowl of frosting. And after all the complaining about it not being purple, I'm actually quite happy with the brown in the end! 🤣