Bottle Stoppers & Experiment

[Ruffnek]

I'm still waiting on my Walnut from M&G to be ready and after putting a coat of finish on a display table I'm making, I started looking for something quick and easy to turn. I remembered that I had three bottle stopper kits left so that's what I did.

In order, they are Walnut, Boid d' Arc and Dogwood. I'm not real keen on any of the shapes but I was just fooling around. I'm not real keen on turning bottle stoppers, either but it was something quick and easy to do. Finish on all of them is Deft spray lacquer.



The experiment is with ebonizing. I've had a ball of steel wool soaking in a few ounces of white vinegar for a couple months now. I'd heard that in high-tannin woods, it would turn them nearly black and I wanted to see for myself. I strained the stuff through a cotton t-shirt and brushed a little on just one side of a scrap of Walnut. Even though the wood was rough cut and unsanded, I believe the solution worked. I'm gonna keep some cookin' all the time for ebonizing stuff for turnings.

[bch47]

I like the Boid d' Arc color and the dogwood shape.

[Ruffnek]

Thanks, Brian.

[admin]

I'm liking the look of that walnut. Looks like there was a knot or a start of one about two thirds down it on the right side, looks like a line across the grain lines in a swirl. Tons of character. I'd be surprised if it'd be displayed long before it got snatched up.

[sachbvn]

Bois d'Arc is always nice to look at but I love the shape and color of the Dogwood the most. I like the bead at the bottom and the mushroom-ish top to it.

Cody, I'd certainly say that ebonizing worked!! Wow, it keep a batch cookin' for sure!


Zac

[Ruffnek]

Thanks, guys.

TJ, that walnut came from a stump/root ball that a friend gave me. It had been laying in the weeds at the dam on his little lake for two years before I got it and it took me another year before I got it sawed into manageable chunks. I ruined a chain on my saw, too, because of all the dirt and rocks in there...even after pressure washing it and leaving it standing root-side up for a few months. You're right, there is tons of character and figure in it.

[TDHofstetter]

I wonder... what you'd get... if you soaked the walnut in the vinegar/steel solution for a while. #0000 steel wool, so you get the most rapid iron ionization. I dunno if it'd work, but it might... I've got all the necessaries out in the shop, so I c'd try it myself.

[Doug B]

I like all 3 woods used a lot. That Walnut has lots of neat stuff going on with it, Bodark is always nice, and the 2 tone Dogwood is great. The shape on the Walnut stopper though is, well...um, not appealing to me. Maybe a few burn lines would help?

The ebonizing looks fantastic!

[sachbvn]

Doug, burn lines help everything!! Haha

[boodrow]

Cody they be lookin good ! I like the dogwood the best , always love bois de arc and the walnut is very standout. Nice job on all 3
Boodrow

[Ruffnek]

May 7, 2010 20:49:18 GMT -6 TDHofstetter said:

I wonder... what you'd get... if you soaked the walnut in the vinegar/steel solution for a while. #0000 steel wool, so you get the most rapid iron ionization. I dunno if it'd work, but it might... I've got all the necessaries out in the shop, so I c'd try it myself.

I expect you will get black Black Walnut. ;D

Even brushing it on, the solution penetrated pretty deeply.

[deepsplinter]

I like the shape of the dogwood, too. The "hedge apple" one ain't bad, but that walnut egg...? On second thought, that walnut would be a good one to yank out of a bottle "full fisted", instead of daintily twisting it out with your finger tips (w/pinky extended).

I've heard of the steel wool/vinegar trick, but never saw it in action. Thanks, I'll try to keep that one in mind....cheap stain.

I like that rattle can deft, too. It has bailed me out of many o' lacquer problems.

[maverick31]

I like the two on the right best. they all look great and I like the rattle can laquer finish too. I use it every now and then.