armchi
Member
I finally managed to test my pressure pot with actual wood. I was rather disappointed with the results. I got a couple of pieces of maple that I had in the workstop. They were 3/4 x 3/4 and cut them into 2.5" lengths. I used the analine dye powder that I got from Lee Valley and mixed it with water. I placed the samples in two different containers and filled it with a red and a blue dye solution. I first pulled about 25-30hg of vacuum and left it overnight. THe pot still held a vacuum the following morning, but it had gone down to about 15-20 hg. I released the vacuum and let it sit for a half a day before pressurizing it to about 80 PSI. I left it overnight before releasing the pressure. I then released the pressure and let it sit for half a day. I then did the vacuum/pressure cycle about 2 more times.
When I drained the liquids, the wood were deep in color. I decided to try something. I placed all the wood in a container lined with shredded paper to catch any moisture and pressurized it overnight. After checking it the next day, the paper didn't even look like it was wet. It was a bit damp, but not soaking wet. I let the wood dry for a couple of days before I decided to see how deep the dye penetrated.
After cutting thru two pieces (a blue and a red one). I noticed that the dye did penetrate, but not to the point where the color was really deep. The surface was deep in color, but as soon as I turned beyond that, the solid color disappeared. Compared to a natural piece, the dyed ones had the blue and red tinge and streaks. More like as if I just wiped a thin layer of dye on the wood and wiped right away.
I'm assuming it's because maple is quite dense and not as porous.
Did I do this correctly or is it because of the wood??
I have not tried casting or stabilizing yet.
When I drained the liquids, the wood were deep in color. I decided to try something. I placed all the wood in a container lined with shredded paper to catch any moisture and pressurized it overnight. After checking it the next day, the paper didn't even look like it was wet. It was a bit damp, but not soaking wet. I let the wood dry for a couple of days before I decided to see how deep the dye penetrated.
After cutting thru two pieces (a blue and a red one). I noticed that the dye did penetrate, but not to the point where the color was really deep. The surface was deep in color, but as soon as I turned beyond that, the solid color disappeared. Compared to a natural piece, the dyed ones had the blue and red tinge and streaks. More like as if I just wiped a thin layer of dye on the wood and wiped right away.
I'm assuming it's because maple is quite dense and not as porous.
Did I do this correctly or is it because of the wood??
I have not tried casting or stabilizing yet.