Curly maple duck call w/ vinegar stain

[Aaron Wingert]

I recently scored a really nice slab of curly maple. I've read about using vinegar/steel wool stain to color curly maple so I gave it a go. I put a piece of steel wool and about one pint of white vinegar in one of my wife's tupperwares. A week later it looks like the tank of a porta-John.

Sanded the call to 320, wiped the stain on, quickly heated it with the torch (about 3 seconds), let it dry, then sanded from 320 through 800 and applied finish. As nasty as the stuff looks in the tupperware, I like what it does to the maple.

I included a piece of the same section of curly maple for color reference of what the stain did.

[Aaron Wingert]

Just for fun....

[Ted Calver]

That really popped the curl!! Really nice Aaron.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

It's the Iron oxide that does the coloring Aaron, and yes it did a very nice job on the Maple and will on any wood that has Tannin in it or added to it, well done looks great !!

[Joshua Dinerstein]

Wow. That is just an awesome looking piece. I love the effect that the vinegar/steel wool had on the visible ripple. Seriously just beautiful.

Joshua

[Jon Lanier]

That is awesome!!!! Picture Clicked that one to my Notebook pages. I may be trying that very soon!

[brian watts]

very nice..

[John Hart]

Beautiful color you've acheived in this Aaron. I can see that process being good for some vases I'm planning. Nice Work!!:)

[Michelle Rich]

The ducks,not only will come to the call, they'll enjoy the designer look!

[Norm Zax]

Looks great!
Works good also on oak. Why use the torch btw?

[John Keeton]

Really some nice color! And, it is so hard to go wrong with curly maple - it begs to be dyed.

Bet your wife is REAL HAPPY with how her Tupperware looks!!:eek:;)

[Roger Chandler]

Another beauty Aaron! I like your imagination on coloring techniques.....this one really popped the grain on the curly maple. If I were a duck hunter, I would pay good $$$ for most of the calls you have made and posted here on SMC. They are just that nice.

You just keep bringin' the hits!

[Aaron Wingert]

Thanks for the kind words everybody. Sure do appreciate it.

Norm, the guy that told me how to do the vinegar/steel wool stain told me that he heats the piece immediately after application, so that's why I did it. The torch wasn't used to burn the wood at all...just for heat. It did seem to darken the dark spots and made the color stand out. Can't say what it would have looked like without the heat though. :confused:

[Steve Schlumpf]

Sure like what the mixture did for the curly! Have played with it on some different woods - will cause Oak to turn jet black in a matter of seconds! First I've heard of heating the wood.

Beautiful work once again Aaron! Thanks for sharing!

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Aaron, Beautiful work It really makes that wood pop with effect!!:)

[David E Keller]

Very cool. The final looks is very similar to some koa that I've seen. I've had plans to do something like this for a while... Thanks for the inspiration.

[Ken Hill]

Excellent work!!!

[Jack Mincey]

Aaron,
It really looks good. I love the way this method pops the grain in maple. The first time I tried it, I wiped on the solution only to be disappointed with the result. A black smith that was in the shop at the time told me that he had heard that one could apply heat to the project after applying the solution to get the best results. I walked over to the forge he had going and held the turkey call in front of where the heat came out for just seconds and the wood took on the wonderful dark color and the grain popped out of the maple. As the solution stays in the container it becomes more brown than black almost like a walnut stain. I tend to like the black color more than the brown.
Great Job,
Jack

[Rick Markham]

Once again, I find myself here looking at all of y'all's wonderful spinny things... :eek: Aaron that is an amazing looking call, I have enjoyed looking at all of your calls. They are a major reason I want to get into this part of the hobby! Nice use of the ebonizing solution! I haven't seen it on curly maple before.

Jack, and anyone inerested in getting absolutely COAL BLACK with any wood (even ones without natural tannins) you can do a pre wipe with a "tea" made with Quebracho bark extract. Quebracho bark extract has been used by leather tanners for a very long time with a vinegar and iron solution to ebonize leather. Its pretty easy to do (and not expensive either, I think I paid 10 or 15 bucks for 5lbs of the stuff) A tablespoon of it is mixed with a couple cups of water and wiped on the wood and allowed to mostly dry. Then do your ebonizing solution, and allow to dry, a final wash with the "tea" and before it dries, a rinse with some clean water. It is really amazing how absolutely jet black it turns.

I think doing it on Curly maple would ruin the wonderful striped effect, but if y'all want something super dark black and don't want to use ebony it will get you there with any wood I have tried it on ;)

Edited to add: Here is a piece of Red oak, the left side is with the Quebracho bark tea used... the right side is just the same vinegar and steel wool solution. This piece obviously didn't have much tannins in it for some reason. There is a huge difference!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/Rick357/007-5.jpg

[Aaron Wingert]

Aaron,
It really looks good. I love the way this method pops the grain in maple. The first time I tried it, I wiped on the solution only to be disappointed with the result. A black smith that was in the shop at the time told me that he had heard that one could apply heat to the project after applying the solution to get the best results. I walked over to the forge he had going and held the turkey call in front of where the heat came out for just seconds and the wood took on the wonderful dark color and the grain popped out of the maple. As the solution stays in the container it becomes more brown than black almost like a walnut stain. I tend to like the black color more than the brown.
Great Job,
Jack

Thanks Jack, your compliment means a lot! I was hoping for a little more black and a little less brown, but it didn't happen for some reason. I was waiting on the vinegar to darken in the container...Perhaps errantly. It turned brownish in color (as pictured) and the result is a greenish-brown with dark black mixed in. I'm thinking of doing a matched pepper mill and salt shaker from curly maple as a wedding gift so we'll give it another shot on those.

[Aaron Wingert]

Once again, I find myself here looking at all of y'all's wonderful spinny things... :eek: Aaron that is an amazing looking call, I have enjoyed looking at all of your calls. They are a major reason I want to get into this part of the hobby! Nice use of the ebonizing solution! I haven't seen it on curly maple before.

Jack, and anyone inerested in getting absolutely COAL BLACK with any wood (even ones without natural tannins) you can do a pre wipe with a "tea" made with Quebracho bark extract. Quebracho bark extract has been used by leather tanners for a very long time with a vinegar and iron solution to ebonize leather. Its pretty easy to do (and not expensive either, I think I paid 10 or 15 bucks for 5lbs of the stuff) A tablespoon of it is mixed with a couple cups of water and wiped on the wood and allowed to mostly dry. Then do your ebonizing solution, and allow to dry, a final wash with the "tea" and before it dries, a rinse with some clean water. It is really amazing how absolutely jet black it turns.

I think doing it on Curly maple would ruin the wonderful striped effect, but if y'all want something super dark black and don't want to use ebony it will get you there with any wood I have tried it on ;)

Thanks Rick. :D I've never done any ebonizing but I'm filing this helpful idea away in my bag of tricks for when I do!!!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Awesome. That is some beautiful work.

[Alfieri Robson]

Aaron, did you apply a varnish finish ?

[Ron Lynch]

That's a very interesting technique, gives great results. Just a shame what your wife's going to do when she finds her Tupperware.

[Allen Neighbors]

Aaron, that's awesome! I love the way you made the grain pop out on this call.
I wasn't really that ready to see what the inside of a porta-john looked like. :D
Rick thanks for the info. You really made that oak look black.

[Rick Robbins]

very nicely done. i did it a few year's ago. yours looks nicer. just out in the shop cutting blank's. lot's of eye candy. just cut up some Lacy Sycamore. keep doing what your doing looking Great. Rick