Bowls

[Dave Schweitzer]

A couple of Black Locust bowls, turned green dryed and then fumed with ammonia.
Dave.

[Kathy Marshall]

Beautiful Bowls Dave! The wood is really nice and the forms are great too! I like them both, but the 1st would be my favorite. What does fuming with ammonia do?

[Scott Hackler]

Very nice pieces. I would also like to know what the fuming does and why someone isn't going to Waco!!! :)

[Don Nicholas]

Very nice looking bowls Dave excellent photo as well.

[Rick Markham]

Those are magnificent Dave! I really like the fuming, great effect. I never realized it worked so dramatically on Black Locust... super cool!

[Rick Markham]

Ammonia fuming is an old trick, I've never tried it, and mostly only have seen red oak that has been fumed. The ammonia reacts with the tannins in the wood and cause it to darken. (if my memory serves, Dave can correct me if I'm wrong ;))

[Donny Lawson]

Nice bowls. Can you use Ammonia on any bowl to darken it? Do you just wipe it on or what?

[Roger Chandler]

You need to use a fuming tent! Using ammonia can be very dangerous to the respiratory system.............basically you put a container of ammonia [small bowl] inside a tent made of plastic sheeting........along with the project, and let it sit in the sun for a full day..............or more...............the evaporation of the ammonia will cause a fuming effect which will cause a patina to form on the oak because of the tannins. It usually darkens...........

A lot of stickly and green & green furniture were made using the fuming technique to get the coloration it has.

[John Keeton]

Dave, great work!! A lot different from your customarily wonderful HFs with the finials, but very striking.

Fuming with ammonia is a time consuming process, and it can be dangerous. Most of the turn of the century QSWO furniture, particularly the Stickley style, was fumed to accentuate the ray effect of the oak, and to impart a warm brown that cannot be fully achieved with dye or stain.

The ammonia is not applied to the wood, but normally a tent is built, with the article placed in the tent with a pan of ammonia.

I have never seen it used on locust, but it obviously works, and works well!!

edit - Roger, sorry to duplicate!

[Russell Eaton]

Dave those are incredible. I wish you had a picture looking down at the first one, I think it is my favorite.

[charlie knighton]

very nice, the sapwood stays very white it seems, nice contrast

[Steve Vaughan]

Yup, agreed! Very, very nice and the fuming process sure did it's work.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Dave,
Outstanding drama. I never thought of black locust as anything but fence posts. I will have a new respect for it's beauty.
faust

[Steve Schlumpf]

Wow - that is quite the effect!! The larger bowl looks like Walnut but with exceptionally white sapwood! What did you use for a finish?

[Bill Neddow]

Not only spectacular color, but also great form! The bowls have that simple elegant style that only a master of great form can achieve. I did not know ammonia would work on Black Locust. I have a lot o f Honey Locust here and will have to try fuming a sample.

[Jim Burr]

Great job Dave!! I don't want to speak for Dave, fuming reacts with the tannins in the wood to affect a color change. It's common in Arts and Crafts style furniture, giving QSWO its greenish tint.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice pieces. Fuming really brought out some nice color in these.

[Jon Nuckles]

Very nice color from the fuming. I just finished turning a black locust bowl and was planning to post it with a question about finish options. Probably still will, but fuming might be in the running.

BTW, the ammonia used for fuming is much, much stronger than the household ammonia used for cleaning, and anyone planning to use it should read up on safety precautions.

[Dave Schweitzer]

Thanks all,
I just put the bowls in a plastic container along with a small saucer with some ammonia in it and a lid of course, left it over night. When you take them out they will start to gas off so if you have the color you want put your finish on. You do want to take safety percautions, and be sure to stay down wind and wear a respriator.
John, bowls are what I sell the most of, seems buyers can always relate to bowls.

[Dave Schweitzer]

Steve,
Just have wiping varnish on them.
Thanks.

[David E Keller]

Not sure how I missed these earlier, but they're beautiful! What a fantastic color! Very cool!