I am in need of some black dyed curly maple for an order. I know AS has it, but I don't want to pay $5 shipping on a $5 blank. Has anyone dyed their own and had good results. I have seen the many examples of people dyeing their own blanks, but I can't recall seeing a black one. Any help would be appreciated.
Black dyed curly maple
- Thread starter gatornick
- Start date
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GouletPens
Member
Do you already have the dye on hand? I have done dying of maple with Transtint dyes from Woodcraft, but the dye itself is $18 or something like that. Good if you want to do a ton of it, but not for just one pen. Another thing about the AS blanks is they are stabilized as well, which means they're pressurized and cast in some sort of majical resin to keep the wood stable. Also, since it's dyed all the way through, then if the oils on your (or whoevers) hands wear through the finish, it would not rub away the dye. This would be the concern for dying just the outer layer of wood yourself. I would do a CA finish if you did dye the wood.
Blah blah blah, I said a bunch of stuff, but yeah what you're looking for can be done.
Blah blah blah, I said a bunch of stuff, but yeah what you're looking for can be done.
Dario
Member
Will applying permanent marker work?
wdcav1952
Activities Manager Emeritus
No, I think Brian will keep talking anyway!! :biggrin::tongue::biggrin:
Thanks for the responses. I don't have the dye, so I was kind of hoping for an easy option. I will try a couple of things this weekend and let you know if I have any success. BTW I agree with the CA finish over a surface dyed pen, it would look terrible if it wore through.
Leather Man
Member
I have used black leather dye that worked quite well for me.
Ben
Ben
Nick
Member
I think Ben may be on to something, seems you would have more control with his method.
Ben, I assume you would apply this after all final sanding is done?? then the "finish "
Hope you make out OK
Ben, I assume you would apply this after all final sanding is done?? then the "finish "
Hope you make out OK
rherrell
Member
The stabilized black blanks at AS look solid black, until you turn them. Then you have alot of the lighter wood showing. If you want a REALLY black pen then the leather dye or shoe polish will work. Sand all the way before applying and then, after applying, let it dry and burnish at high speed with a brown grocery bag, that will bring some shine back.:wink:
I'm not at home so I can't check the name of the product, but the local Woodcraft also sells a small squeeze bottle of dye that is mixed with water. The price was around $5, so I tried some on curly maple and maple burl with good results.
Jeff
Jeff
Leather Man
Member
Nick,
Yes. I turned and sanded to finish and then put the black leather dye on the blank and polished. You should be able to get small bottles of dye from your local shoe shop.
Ben
Yes. I turned and sanded to finish and then put the black leather dye on the blank and polished. You should be able to get small bottles of dye from your local shoe shop.
Ben
woodboys
Member
Tar in mineral spirits works good also. The best way to make it pop that I know of is after you stain it sand it back and stain it again before you put on your finish.
I'm glad I haven't had time to try it yet since I have gotten a bunch of good responses. I think I am going to try the leather dye. The idea of dyeing twice while sanding in between also seems like a good idea. I will definitely post photos if I end up with anything worth sharing.
GouletPens
Member
Please do.
fernhills
Member
I use aniline dye you mix with warm water ( one way ) I never did black for a pen but did do the rungs of a stool. i have what they call ebony. You only need a tiny bit for a pen very very small amount. I can send you some in a envelope but it will probably get intercepted and the FBI will call it black anthrax. Let me know.
bad
Member
I don't have any dyed curly maple but I did just find some lightly toasted curly maple. I haven't had a chance to turn any of it yet as the outside temperature has been hovering around the -20 to -30C range here latley (my shop is in an uninsulated garage) but it does look like it will make some nice pens. The toasted part comes when the company that produces it takes the wood and puts it into a large kiln. The air is vacuumed out and it is heated to about 300 C. The wood doesn't burn because there is no air. The process is known as torrefaction. You can find out more from this website http://www.mectorrefaction.com/
If you want I can send you a blank or two for the cost of shipping.