Finishing Quartersawn White Oak w/o Fuming

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/1774

Here’s a good place to start. Good luck and have fun!

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

I’ve tried it a few times, and this is what I found:

1) The finish is amazing. The wood is colored, yet not muddied by a topical application, in any way.

2) You should try a few test pieces first, using the same wood you used for the intended project, and fuming them for different pieces of time. Watch for sapwood, it tends to color differently.

3) The industrial-grade ammonia you use is NASTY stuff. Fume in an open, or semi-open space, like a garage. Wear goggles and a respirator, and gloves. It is insanely strong.

4) Other types of woods will fume as well, with different results. Some won’t hardly change at all, others will change rapidly. Jeff Jewitt, a renown finisher, has info in one of his books.

-- http://newmissionworkshop.com

since you said without fuming you should try some waterbased dyes. spraying is best if you have the capability. just pick some colors you like and do some test pieces until you find the color you like best. they won’t muddy up the surface at all.

I use dyes all the time now, and rarely stains. Dyes seem so easy to work with, and tend to bring different colored wood all into one tone.

-- http://newmissionworkshop.com

I would agree with Patrick on the use of dyes. I use dye on quartersawn white oak. I have had success with applying a wiping stain over top the dye. It opens up a wide variety of tones and shades for your piece.

John

Thanks for all the input everyone. I also found this recipe on finewoodworking.com:

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=31287