My first project with white oak, I would like a not so common oak looking finish. It is a tool box with 11 pull out drawers. I have a house full of oak finished furniture, but would like a little darker appearance to the eye. Yes I know all about stains, but just looking for a new twist to me, but not new to some lumberjocks…..thank you.
My Grandfather use to make a lot of rustic oak projects. He kept a bucket with water in it and put scrap iron in it. he would wipe the oak with a rag soaked in the rusty water. the iron in the water would turn the oak a silvery gray (aged) look.
The nice thing about fuming with with ammonia is that you can easily adjust the darkness of the finished project. There are many youtube videos on the process and comments on this site to assist. I use common ammonia cleaner from the grocery store and have fumed projects from a couple of hours to over 48 hours when I was looking for a darker finish. You just need to be a little careful when using ammonia.
Stain over dye techniques are fun for smaller projects. I find them tedious on large furniture pieces, but the effect is really something. Especially if the oak is quartersawn, and you use a light honey colored dye first, then a walnut colored stain over the top. Jeff Jewitt is a modern expert on the topic… http://homesteadfinishingproducts.com/
The above are all great suggestions. But, if you want a quick and easy finish, Watco Dark Walnut Danish Oil gives a dark appearance to oak. These are some laminated screwdriver handles I made with white oak and finished with the Danish Oil:
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