wood dyes and glueing

[woodfish]

I would like to make up some dyied pen and stopper blanks. This is the first time I'm tring this. What is a good dye and what kind of glue should I use to dye the stock together? What kind of wood works best? I was thinking about using popular, I have lots of that lying around also oak.
Do I need a pressure pot to do this? I don't have pot as yet but working on building one.
Any isight or suggestion?
Many question I have............
Thanks
Dave

 

[MobilMan]

I've heard of food coloring or regular dyes. Just make sure it's DRY afterward. Tite Bond 11 is your best choice for large pieces as stoppers. CA will work on the pens.

 

[nava1uni]

I dye wood with food colors and I also use liquid watercolors. The watercolors are by Dr. Ph Martin, I buy them at an art store. I apply the dye when the pen or stopper is on the lathe after it is turned to the shape that I want. I apply it with a cloth that is not too wet. I apply it in layers and then let it dry before finishing it. If you want more info PM and I will answer any questions.

 

[Druid]

I use Artisan dyes that are pre-mixed alcohol based aniline dyes. They give an awsome impact to the grain of the wood. Pale woods like box elder when dyed significantly highlight figure.

 

[GouletPens]

I use Transtint dyes from Woodcraft b/c they're VERY concentrated and I can really control the stength of the color. They can be diluted in alcohol or water. I got them at Woodcraft. A little pricey, but they go a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG way. They're similar to Artisan dyes, but in concentrated form.

 

[fernhills]

I use the aniline dyes. I have done a lot of reading about them and i found that when mixed with water they give off the most brilliant colors. You have to deal with the fuzzies when you use the water based formulas. I dampen the pen and when the fuzzies rise i spin the pen on the lathe and sand with a brown paper bag, then apply dye. Do this till you reach the color you are after.

 

[KenV]

I am not sure from the message starting the thread if the intent is to color the surface, or to infuse color into the wood that shows as wood is turned. Both can be done, but the infusion of color into the wood takes longer and may or may not be even through the wood. There are a couple of turners (one in Colorado and one in Canada that I know of) who color aspen/alder with water based colorants while the tree is growing and then harvest the wood. Pressure will aid in pushing the colorant into the wood. For pen blanks, soaking usually works followed by a drying cycle to remove the solvent carrying the color. One generally cuts and glues after the color process as most of the glues have different challenges with colors and matches. Most glues work as a resist to the penetration of color if you want a Batitik kind of end product. I do tint epoxy glues and have put color into white wood glue for punky spalted woods too. Sometimes it works and sometimes there is more firewood.

Surface colors on turned surfaces is a wide open decorative topic with many many choices.