Workshop Wednesday: Wood Darkening Techniques - DIY Ebonizing Solution vs Super Black India Ink

Workshop Wednesday: Wood Darkening Techniques - DIY Ebonizing Solution vs Super Black India Ink
I’ve been wanting to make some ebonizing solution for a while and finally got around to doing it. Or to TRYING to do it! I had all sorts of trouble with the steel wool rusting and basically contaminating the solution. I googled DIY ebonizing solution and landed on Kent Weekly’s Turn A Wood Bowl website/blog. He also has a KZbin channel and although I’m subscribed I didn’t have a chance to search his videos and see if he made one using the techniques he goes over on the website. Basically his method is to wash the steel wool with Dawn or a degreasing soap since all steel wool is coated with a thin coat of oil to keep it from rusting from exposure to humid air, etc. I did that and hung it out on the clothesline to dry, where is just rusted 😂. So I got another ball of steel wool, washed it, squeezed out the excess and put it straight into the plastic container of 6% acidity distilled white vinegar and held it down with some bamboo skewers. Part of it floated above the surface and rusted. So I tried a few other ways to hold the wool under the surface of the vinegar without success.
I knew my friend Hula makes this stuff so I asked him how he does it and he said he chucks the steel wool into a mason jar with the vinegar and vents a lid and in a couple of days it’s magic 🙄. So I decided to try his method, but I added a piece of plastic lid cut to just fit inside the mason jar that would prevent the steel wool from reaching the surface. I covered it with a plastic lid with holes drilled in it and used a couple of bamboo skewers to hold the plastic in place, and taped them to the side of the jar to keep THEM from rising. I left it in there for probably over 2 weeks and the solution doesn’t look particularly dark to me, but it does seem to work so YAY!
I also tested Speedball Super Black India Ink as another option - it worked really well, especially on getting a darker shade on the cherry. You could add additional coats of either liquid to get a darker color but you can still mostly see the grain of the wood. I didn’t put any finish on the India Ink since I used the ebonizing liquid on the actual project, but I assume it would not run or smear once sealed with shellac and/or your choice of finish.
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[@BBTurning]

Nicely done Lisa. I use ebonising solution a lot and have done a few videos on it, don't worry about the wire wool rusting, it really does not make a difference. Your solution will eventually go brown, just give it a good shake before you use it again. The reason it works is that it reacts with the tannin in the wood so a simple rule of thumb is the more tannin the blacker it goes. If you can get a hold of some Spanish Chestnut it will turn jet black and takes a great shine. Getting some black staining on the paper towel while working it is normal so again don't worry about it. A good tip if you want to use a wood with a low tannin content is to make a very strong tea solution. I think you would call it English breakfast tea over there. Just paint it on before the ebonising solution and let it dry then use the solution. The tannin in the tea will raise the tannin content in the wood. Again nicely done and I wanted to see how the ink would compare which was very handy to see. Shay

[@LisaRamlow]

Hi Shay! Hope you’re all back to 100% these days…or at least as close as we can get 😁 I’ll be the first to admit I am the QUEEN of overthinking but the first couple batches I tried ended up really kinda gloppy and weird. I knew the reaction is to the tannin, but didn’t think about doing tea first, that’s a great idea. I’ve also seen Kent mix some turmeric is with it and that looks cool too. Lots to experiment with, but not lots of time - summer art fair season for The Bear Girls is in full swing and it’s been nutty around here!

[@jayscott306]

You know how when you begin a new craft and there's so much to learn, then it gets to the point where you only occasionally learn something new? This was that moment, Lisa! I thought my solution was strong enough and it's just easier to apply more coats. I was wrong and knew it about halfway through the video. I love ebonizing with that method so I'll be giving this recipe a try.

[@LisaRamlow]

Just don’t make it as hard as I did Jay! 🤣

[@jasonholman6153]

Well you know me and Walnut, I cried a little when you did that to that beautiful piece of walnut but it turned out beautifully. I was glad to see the walnut finial.😊

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Jason! This little hunk of walnut was rescued from a bit of board I’ve been dragging around for 20 years so I figure it was a good use for it 🤣😁

[@DougMilleratWoodSpunRound]

Shay gave you good advice. Don’t worry about the rust. In fact, the more rust that goes into the vinegar, the better solution will react with the tannins in the wood. With low tannin wood, use the tea idea Shay spoke about. Make some tea with 4-5 tea bags in a couple cups of boiling water to make a really strong pot of tea. After it cools it can be applied as a base onto the wood. Once it dries, your iron acetate solution (the vinegar and steel wool) can go on for a rich ebonizing effect. I really like the lid and knob. Looks really good and should be beautiful on the pot. Well done.

[@LisaRamlow]

Hey Doug! The first couple of go-rounds where it rusted I got kind of a gloopy mess so I just chucked it and started over. I’m definitely overthinking, but we expect no less from me, yes!? 😁 I’ll definitely try the tea and I saw Kent used some turmeric and that gave an interesting effect as well. Fortunately the supplies I wasted amounted to a few dollars and I’m really happy with the outcome on the walnut 👍

[@maryjoy3565]

Wish you would do more videos. I enjoy watching you turn.

[@LisaRamlow]

Thank you, I appreciate that! I really enjoy making them but it takes me a ridiculously long time to edit them - too much of a perfectionist I guess. But I’m working on that!

[@thefreemathtutor]

Great idea for a Workshop Wednesday video. I know I’ll be watching this one more than once. When you first applied the ebonizing solution, it just looked like the wood seemed a bit wet, but the change as it dried was surprising.

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Doug! Yeah, it takes a little bit - apparently if you brew some strong tea and wipe that on before the ebonizing solution it I’ll get even darker - the solution is reacting with the tannins so adding tannin (tea) helps woods not naturally high in tannin. Also turmeric can be used too. So many options!

[@thefreemathtutor]

@@LisaRamlow It's really interesting, I'll have to experiment with it. I'll create a project just for that purpose.

[@alinmayerthorpe7801]

Nice job of darkening your lid and the finial looks great on it! I haven't done any ebonizing of wood as I tend just find darker pieces for my projects! Well done and thanks! Cheers Al

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Al! The walnut on its own probably would have been fine but I think the black is really going to pop with the butternut 👍

[@jackburton6085]

Thanks for sharing this Lisa, I’ve heard of this, but never figured out how it’s done… now I have something new to try! Take it easy! ✌️❤️🍻🖖

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Jack! It doesn’t need to be as complicated as I made it 🤣

[@alun7006]

Ah, cool! I've literally just made some of this solution in the last week. I just threw rhe wire wool into vinegar and left it. It took about four days before it started to really do anything, it went brighr orange and offgassed a lot, then calmes rifht down. I poured it through a coffee dilter to get rid of moat of the bits, and its now settled out and is clear with a layer of sediment at the bottom. Going to try it on some oak bits at the weekend.

[@LisaRamlow]

It should work fine. I just freaked out when it went orange (from the rust I assume) and started over several time 🤷‍♀️🤣

[@amandatallis9875]

Hello Lisa the techniques you used were really interesting and I like the finial result it looks really magnificent well done. Amanda xx

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Amanda!

[@patdavis1468]

That turned out really pretty👍🏻❤️

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Pat!

[@laceyhansen1815]

I really like it too. I enjoy your videos and get to learn new stuff. Many thanks

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks I’m so glad you’re enjoying the channel 😁

[@Ced_woodturning]

Hi, U.K. here I just put s load of wire wool in a jar and fill with malt viniger and leave for about 3 weeks agitate a couple of times per week. when iv'e used some I just add viniger to the 'soup' and use until I need to add more wire wool it just keeps on giving. Best of luck......

[@LisaRamlow]

I am the queen of overthinking for sure 😁

[@dtork47]

Very helpful, have to try that. Lots of old steel wool around here!

[@Winterbourne_wood_turning]

I use white wine or cider vinegar and just dump a few old screws, nails etc in it. Works best with oak and ash or wood with a high tannin content

[@LisaRamlow]

I may try that too!

[@NianticRiverWoodcraftingChrisN]

I can tell you why not to use glass. I did and knocked it over, shattering the jar. I ebonozied my bench, table saw and everything else that got splashed!

[@LisaRamlow]

Oh no! Well I have lots of glass jars in the shop so I’m tempting fate every day 🤣

[@raybone3]

The solution doesn't need to be black. Iron acetate is not a stain. Iron acetate reacts with the tannin in the wood and turns dark. So, the higher the tannin content, the darker the results.

[@LisaRamlow]

Yeah I guess I didn’t say that quite right, I do know it’s the tannin that reacts and that’s why some woods work better than others, but I seem to recall other peoples liquid seeming darker and more opaque than mine. Oh well, the queen of overthinking muddles her way thru and the important part is it works and I love the result on the walnut lid 😁

[@jimdaly5077]

Looks good to me, 👍🐝🌞

[@LisaRamlow]

Thanks Jim!

[@micah06v8]

That Ebonizing solution sounds like a pain in the butt to get right! Then again India ink gets everywhere and you cannot get it out of anything!😂

[@LisaRamlow]

Well apparently I made it waaaaaaay more complicated than it needed to be by worrying about it and overthinking it, as is my way 🤣