dyeing osage orange

[Prashun Patel]

I typically see people dyeing white or figured woods like holly, oak, ash, or curly maple. I have a piece of osage orange that looks beautiful as is, but I'm curious what an application of black or blue dye would do...

[Gary Max]

My small thought------why mess with beautiful.

[curtis rosche]

depends on how it absorbs,,, but it might look awseome if some how it ends up orange and black stripped

[Andrew Arndts]

Don't, I have seen some dyed Osage Bows, oh the owner loved it, but they looked like crap warmed over.

[Gary Max]

Andrew don't hold back----------------:D

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks for the advice. I will heed it!

[Steve Vaughan]

I think the osage would look wonderful as it is. And, maybe it would look really cool dyed IF you can get the natural color and the dye to make a nice contrast. We've probably all seen wood that when trying to get a nice contrast ended up getting all splotchy and such. Yeah, I'd hate to see ya mess up a good thing, but...
How about a picture of it before you do anything to get a better idea?

[Bernie Weishapl]

I would myself Prashun. That wood will turn a beautiful soft brown color as time goes on.

[John Keeton]

Prashun, I would almost guarantee you would end up with a green using either blue or black. That yellow will react with the blue, and the black will have nearly the same effect as it has a lot of blue in it.

[Curt Fuller]

I've used OO for finials because I have a bunch of small pieces and I like the way it holds the details. Some I have dyed black when I've wanted a good dark contrast. I've used india ink and the craftsupplies artisan black dye. OO didn't take the dye as well as some other woods but with india ink it will turn jet black after a couple applications. Like John said, I think blue would give it a weird greenish color. Actually, I've turned OO mostly because I like the natural color of the wood and the way it darkens with time. I'm not sure how a coloring would affect the natural darkening.

[Bob Bergstrom]

Prashun, I would almost guarantee you would end up with a green using either blue or black. That yellow will react with the blue, and the black will have nearly the same effect as it has a lot of blue in it.


+1 here the yellow color of the would will turn it green and a lot of blacks have green in them. The density of Osage won't absorb much dye. I think the final effect will be minimal.

[Rick Markham]

According to color theory... blue is the complimentary color to orange, it should change to a shade of grey. The catch is, the dye's are rarely true to their color even on white wood, and require some playing and mixing to get a true color.

Now if you take that tidbit about complimentary colors and make it work for you, say you dye a finial black, but the black dye ends up a bluish hue, you can then dye with orange over the top, and it will knock down the blue hue and will appear black. (This works, I've tried it) The orange dye can be a weaker concentration than if you were trying to dye something orange. :D This one I know several of you will be trying soon ;)

[Prashun Patel]

Here are some pix after turning. After hollowing I've decided I'll just finish it without color. I guess the right question to have asked is: what is the best finish for OO?

[Jim Burr]

I'd slap that bowl with a bit of oil; tung oil finish or AO and see what you get. See what other opinions pop up.

[James Roberts]

Prashun, if you have a small piece of the OO left (from parting off or whatever) you could sand it down as per your regular sanding regimen and then experiment with the color of your choice. If the result looks ok then a maybe try it on the finished bowl. Not happy? Then you have lost nothing but a little time. Ultimately, it's your bowl and your call although I will say I love the bowl as it is right now.

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

Prashun,

Some time ago, Gary Max sold me some OO blanks for bowls. I turned a small one and have used it as a candy bowl in my office which gets used frequently! It's probably two years old, has mellowed to a beautiful yellow/brown and the finish appears untouched.

I used Liberon.

http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/indextool.mvc?prodid=LB-0510.XX

[Rick Markham]

Prashun, really nice bowl, I really like the lip. I'd leave it uncolored too! As for finishes, I guess it mostly depends on what you want to use it for. If it's something your going to eat out of, I'd just use walnut oil. If it's for decoration, well then you can use anything you wanna!