# dying blanks



## Woodnknots (Sep 4, 2005)

What are some of the methods used by the penturners here for dying blanks?  I have some bigleaf maple burl that is really pretty by itself, but I'd like to try some color.  
Trying color is a big step for me.  I make custom furniture on the side, and staining or dying has been a no-no for me up till now.  I brought that philosophy over to wood turning with me, and now I'm starting to wonder if dying wood would be a bad thing for me.  
Soooo, with that in mind, I was considering using a protein dye, like RIT, for clothes, and instead of disolving it in water, I would use acetone or DNA.  Any thought on whether this process would work?


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## vick (Sep 4, 2005)

Funny you should ask






<br />

This is a Maple Burl that I just finished dying brown.  After turning I sanded with 400 dyed, let it dry.  Micromeshed through all grits and dyed again.  It looks good to me, but not enough info yet to be sure.


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## Woodnknots (Sep 4, 2005)

> _Originally posted by vick_
> <br />Funny you should ask
> 
> 
> ...


what method of dying did you use?


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## vick (Sep 5, 2005)

Sorry I guess I forgot the most infortant part [:I]. I applied a moderate amount of dye on a folded up paper towel and applied it with the lathe spinning at slow speed.  I really do not think it matters if the lathe is spinning or not.

As a note I have a feeling that you would get better penetration in the blank if you did not sand as much as I did, which is why I aplied prior to the Micro Mesh as well.  But like I said still have to play around.


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## joeatact (Sep 5, 2005)

What type of dye did you use? Looks good.

Joe


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## ctEaglesc (Sep 5, 2005)

I use the method you are suggesting and the problem I have found in dying the blank prior to turning is penetration.
Even with some of the dyed stabilzed blanks I have purchased the color can be spotty.(very dissapointing so I don't buy any any more,I can have lousy color penetration  on my own  without payng $6.00 per blank.)
This is an area where experimenting and personal preference is probably a good way to go.


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## smoky10 (Sep 5, 2005)

Has anyone tried drilling and turning the blank round, dropping them in the dye solution and using vaccuum? I was just wondering if this would help penetration.


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## ctEaglesc (Sep 5, 2005)

That is one method I have tried Tom, it depends on the wood.The less dense teh wood the better ther penetration.
I am inaging that is why you see a lot of Box elder blanks dyed and stabilized. Not a very dense wood.


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## Old Griz (Sep 5, 2005)

I have tried two different dying processes for pen blanks and both have worked... 
One is Chestnut Spirit Dye.. basically any NGR Alcohol based dye is the same... and the other was a bottle of acrylic artist ink that I got at the local craft shop... it is water based and did raise the grain a bit, but not so bad that a little 0000 steel wool could not take care of it without removing the color... both dyes can be steel wooled to reduce the color and give a more translucent effect which is what I think you would want to do with the big leaf maple... 
I have seen Rit disolved in alcohol used on some scroll saw projects and it apparently works real nice.. have not tried it myself.. 
As for lightfast, the red set was made a year ago and it is still red.. the yellow over 6 months ago and still yellow... 
See the pics below... the red set is the Spirit dye the yellow is the artist ink... I would try the artist ink first as it is less expensive and should be available locally...

<b>Red Chestnut Spirit Dye:</b><br />

<br /> 

<b>Yellow Acrylic Artist Ink:</b><br />


<br />


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## Dario (Sep 5, 2005)

I would be interested on what others tried and tested too.  

My interest is more on how (lightfast) the dye takes expose to sunlight without the color bleeching out.


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## smoky10 (Sep 5, 2005)

I have a lot of box elder blanks so I might try some sort of dye and vacuum.


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## vick (Sep 5, 2005)

> _Originally posted by joeatact_
> <br />What type of dye did you use? Looks good.
> 
> Joe



I am going to have to plead ingrorance on a brand name, I bought it a while ago and some where down the line it changed bottles[].  I know I bought it at Woodcraft and it was not the Trans Tint. Sorry!


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