This is how I spent Saturday... It was a great day weather wise so the planer got lifted up on my rolling stand so I wouldn't have to bend over...Maw helped with the lifting...

 Just enough stacked there to lock under my rolling outfeed table. Last time I had some stacked there the stack got knocked over a few times...

 The brown stained bases are another set but 13 pieces this time.. she keeps finding more characters. This time she introduced the little Shepard to the group.

  Two of those boards are still in the ruff. I had stood them up cause they were the straightest then forgot they were there till I put up the planer...

  I then run a few through the joiner and glued a few together for this logo thingy. I am going to attempt  

  to scroll saw the letters out and all the rest of the things so they will be raised somewhat then put it all back together. This is really a job for a CNC but I wouldn't know how to turn one on so the next best thing will have to do..

    The biggest problem is getting a true blue on maple wood. So far it has been impossible since I been doing this for the last 60 years... I have every stain and dye and all the other things like water colors, acrylic, oil base and anything else any one in the whole wide world sells and it always turn green on maple... 

blue paint.

That is a pile of boards!!

 

I like the Power Off button on your saw.

 

26 minutes ago, lew said:

That is a pile of boards!!

 

I like the Power Off button on your saw.

 

i'd paint it red, and with white lettering, i'd spell out WHOA.

Thats a kneebee

Wish the weather was great here...be nice to do something outdoors...once of the wettest (and muddiest) November's on record and December doesn't look promising either.

 

1 hour ago, Smallpatch said:

The biggest problem is getting a true blue on maple wood. So far it has been impossible since I been doing this for the last 60 years

You've probably already tried this in the last 60 years, but maybe you don't remember What about blue India ink? Might even be able to alter or darken it a little adding black or red.

https://www.docmartins.com/collections/bombay-india-ink

Wow now that is a nice stack of wood.

Dave I got or had anything anybody sells or use to sell in all those years. Bombay and printers ink to me is the same thing.

 Both are water base. I also use oil base and acrylic paste.

 

I experiment with anything that comes out new. Trans tint I have but I use mostly a die stain on wood colors like these bases for the stained glass goodies.....Printers ink from from an office I have and use but there for a number of years is started appearing at garage sales as people wold buy the kits to use on their home printers only to get the lines clogged up and probably most was canned along with their but a few would add them to the other things at the sales and I bought all I could find... way cheaper than at an office supply. Dab suggested painting the stuff with a blue paint...that is the only way I have ever found to get the exact color but I am still looking for the wood grain to show through. 

  Some of the tubes are acrylic and some are oil base. I have also tried mixing acrylic with lacquer thinner but all you get is clabber...I use to get boot and shoe dye but those kind of stores don't exist anymore.. but didn't matter they didn't help with the blue... 

Rusty, three stacks like that and I have to take the blades off and sharpen or else fork over about 50 bucks for new blades.. I do have a machine I bought new just for planer blades about 20 years ago and every set I take off the planer I practice sharpening but am still in the learning curve...I also have a Tormek but the only attachment I don't have is for planer blades.. 

Patch , have you tried to bleach the wood before coloring. In January I talked to a man selling Chromacraft dyes at the TAW symposium in Tennessee . He said all wood has an inherent color which affects dyes. To overcome this color and get the color you are trying to dye the word you have to bleach the wood. The bleach made for this is a two part bleach. You will leave it on for various times depending on the wood and the amount of color you want to remove. Then you rinse the bleach off and sneutralize it with vinegar. This will raise the grain to a slight fuzz depending on the wood and can be gently sanded. Note that too much sanding will get you right back to the wood color you started with . I have seen walnut bleached white  with this type product. Hope this helps  

1 hour ago, Smallpatch said:

I experiment with anything that comes out new.

Patch, take a look at this video; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fDqmEHT1-c not sure how it would work on small areas and might be difficult to control, but he gets some magnificent looking blue on maple. I'll be honest, didn't watch it all the way to the end...Bed time.

 

Product he is using is Keda Wood Dye mixed with lacquer thinner.

 

Also, have you ever tried using plain 'ole gun bluing paste? Not sure how or if it would dry...maybe mix it with lacquer thinner too, IDK. Same goes for using Prussian Blue. I used it to check parts fit as well as valve seat to valve face surfaces. It would dry eventually in a shop towel or the like. IDK in wood...again maybe mixed with lacquer thinner or Acetone???

 

As for the blue leather dye (& polish) Amazon shows several products of each.

Edited December 4, 20187 yr by Grandpadave52

Cal when I first started out I did bleach a few and it is a chore and time consuming.. Mostly back then mahogany was very popular and I turned some big tv record player combinations and other mahogany made furniture into some beautiful maple finishes. I used all commercial wood bleaches and I haven't seen that stuff for many years.  It gets too involved so the charges would be more than anyone would want to pay since there are lots of ways to actually hide the wood itself and fake it now.

   Cal that tall bottle with blue on it in the picture with the Bombay ink is boot and shoe dye. Years ago it was acetone or lacquer thinner thinned but now its water soluble.

 

If a person starts with the commerical wood bleach and gets the wood almost to the desired tone I then can use house hold bleach at the end to help the cause but using house hold bleach only, no it don't do enough...

 Cal I appreciate all your help. I can't see anything new I haven't done before..Anytime you put a clear finish over what he is using things change.

 

This is what I was after on this clock but after I applied clear lacquer, it changed to this. These two pieces are on this clock . I do all the carving in pieces then after the finish is applied I then glue all the pieces together on the backer board to hopefully becomes one carving..

 

I've used powdered Oxalic Acid to mix with distilled water to make a bleach for various woods. But, never used it on maple. I mostly used it to try to even out the colors in walnut before ebonizing it. After several time consuming and, unsatisfactory attempts, I just went with India Ink. 

From seeing your huge supply of coloring agents, I can tell you have vast experience in, what I consider, an esoteric art. 

Gerald sorry I mixed you up with Cal. Both of you are good with info and for sure my long term memory is the only thing I got left but what I did in the shop this morning or ten minutes ago is what the doc says is almost gone... back when I did do some wood bleaching no one wanted to pay you for your time and it seems worse now than back in the fifty and sixties.

Not a worry, as long as they call me for supper. I feel the same way about bleach . Even with small items it is like finishing the item twice, but for the bright colors that is the only way to get there.

14 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

Gerald sorry I mixed you up with Cal

Well, I was thinking about a reply...

I got Dave mixed up with someone here while back . Funny for I always roll up to the post I'm fixin to reply to for correct spelling of a name but you Call was on my mind thinking about that fast multi state tour and a great jester you pulled off for your kin....and when my wife found out some of her kin was moving to Texas her comment was I hope they don't move to Breckenridge... a few minutes later I called my wife in to read this and see if she remembers telling me that........She almost falls on the floor laughing so much... I said I know this was between you and I and I hope none of your kin reads this....... well they better have a sence of humor is all I can say...

   It helps to read of things here about some of you all in the morning so the rest of the day I can think, wow I'm sure glad I don't live in Alabama or Louisiana

Edited December 5, 20187 yr by Smallpatch

4 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

I got Dave mixed up with someone here while back .

That's OK Patch...I sometimes get myself mixed up with someone else too.