Dyed Ash Bowl (a tribute to Bill Neddow)

[Richard Madden]

On another forum, the late Bill Neddow showed a dyed oak bowl that left me wanting to try one myself. This is ash, about 11x3, dyed black, 3 coats of WOP and white shoe polish. Thanks Bill, for the inspiration. Comments and critique are always welcome.

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[Hayes Rutherford]

I like the style of this bowl. Well done.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice bowl. I like how the dye defined the growth rings.

[Kathy Marshall]

That's a Great looking bowl Richard! I like the contrast of the black dye and white shoe polish and the natural inside.

[Doug Herzberg]

Very nice effect. Inspiring.

[Jim Burr]

What a great way to honor Bill's memory...you nail it Richard!!

[Tim Rinehart]

Richard, I'm sure Bill is looking down and smiling at what a wonderful piece this is. You couldn't have better balanced the rings with a micrometer and xray eyes, this really came out fantastic. I'd like to try this technique someday, I sure like the results. Very well done!!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Beautiful work Richard! Love the contrast of dye vs natural and the black vs white. Very nice - would have to believe that Bill would love it as well!

[Dale Bright]

Richard, you have done a wonderful job on this bowl. A beautiful shape and the dye / shoe polish work is excellent. Well Done Sir!!!!

Dale

[jared herbert]

I have been thinking about doing something like this myself but have a question.. How do you keep the dye from bleeding through to the undyed area and how did you keep such a sharp edge between the areas? Did you use transtint dyes? thanks in advance. Jared

[Richard Madden]

Jared, to prevent bleeding of the dye, I followed Bill's advice which was to finish the inside of the bowl first. I used walnut oil, several coats while off the lathe. Then the bowl was put back on the lathe and I sanded the rim in case some of the walnut oil had bled to the rim. After that the tenon was removed and the dye was applied to the outside. The oil kept the dye from bleeding to the inside. The dye came from CL, called "Blacker than Black". Good stuff, but it took two coats to get a nice coverage.

[Mark Hubl]

Nice Richard. I really like this technique, it works so well with ash and oak. It does make the piece pop. Nice tribute to Bill.

[Glenn Barber]

Richard-This really is a quite striking, and beautiful, piece! I stumbled across this while searching about dyes. I have since tried, in vain, to find any articles by Bill Neddow about how this process is done. Could you please point me in the right direction as to where I might find some info? Maybe elaborate here on the steps to how you did this? Simply gorgeous!!!

Thanks,
Glenn

[Prashun Patel]

That is perfect. I love the zebra effect. Great highlighting of that grain. White shoe polish!!! I am going to have to try that. I love it.

[jwjerry w kowalski]

Richard,

That makes an ordinary wood like ash, a standout piece. I love the contrast of the black and white, and with a woods full of ash I'll have to try this at a later date, hope mine comes out as nice as yours.

[Richard Madden]

Glenn, I'll try and give a step by step, but you can always modify to suit.
After finish turning, I applied the Walnut Oil as described above. Reverse and finish the bottom. Before dyeing, I used a brass bristle brush on the outside to clean out any dust in the open grain. This is important, to keep the grain clear of any residue and have a place for the shoe polish. Apply dye of your choice. When dry, I used gloss WOP, but Bill used salad bowl finish. What you want is to seal the dye to maintain the black color, otherwise the white shoe polish will turn the whole piece gray. Thin coats of sealer (WOP or salad bowl finish, or whatever you choose) are important because you don't want to fill the grain. Two or three coats should do it. Shoe polish, or liming wax is applied to a small area at a time. Don't cover the entire piece or you will have a heck of a time rubbing it all out. Buff the polish as you go. If the dye has been sealed well, the only polish remaining will be in the grain. Of course, open grain woods like oak and ash are going to work best. I buffed this bowl when done with Ren wax, but that may not be necessary...your choice. I hope this helps, but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. And by all means, show us your work!!

[Richard Madden]

Thanks, Prashun and Jerry for the comments. Give it a shot sometime.

[George Morris]

Richard well done ! Great look, I have been experiment with trans tint dye also. The difference in what I am doing is after dying I cover it in liming wax wipe off then wipe on netural shoe polish this takes off any remaining liming wax all while wearing gloves! Then I spray with a Mohawk product M102-0612 perfect blend waterborne lacquer. Got this info from Andy DiPierto a very fine turner.