Using Black Leather Dye

[Doug Reesor]

Ebony is pretty expensive and I feel a little uncomfortable using rainforest wood, so when I heard about using black leather dye to "ebonies" a finial , I thought I'd try it. Also, it helps if you have some in the basement to use on leather. It worked really well on the maple finial. The piece is 6" tall and 4" dia. The bottom is spalted elm.

Doug

[David DeCristoforo]

The best black dye on the planet is Fiebing's USMC Black. You can order it online.

[Doug Herzberg]

Your turning is unique and lovely. The dye looks good. Your mom should be thrilled.

Some of the turners on a budget in our local club use ordinary shoe polish. I've been meaning to experiment with white vinegar and steel wool. I got as far as putting some steel wool in a jar of white vinegar. Some day, I'll find out if it makes black walnut black. I've heard the effect is changed if you sand after you apply it. So many experiments, so little time.

[Ted Calver]

Doug, It looks like rainforest wood to me, so the dye did the trick. That form is beautiful!

[Bruce Pratt]

Doug, the iron/acetic acid approach works best with woods with high tannic acid content, oaks in particular. The thickness of the staining depends on how long you leave the wood exposed to the solution. In red oak it will come right through to the other side... There are numerous threads on this process on SMC and other turning sites.

[charlie knighton]

if you use shoe polish you need to seal it with like sanding sealer or that rattle can stuff....having a senior moment

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is a beauty. Leather dye works great. Love the form.

[Robert Henrickson]

Brian Boggs describes a process using an initial application of a 'tea' made from tree bark called “quebracho” which allows you to blacken any wood with the vinegar/steelwool solution, whatever its tannin content. I've used it successfully on woods such as ash.

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/ebonizing_wood

[Tim Rinehart]

The best black dye on the planet is Fiebing's USMC Black. You can order it online.
I just got some of this recently...and it is truly black. No purplish undertones to this stuff. If you live near a Tandy Leather store, they sell it there.

[Peter Blair]

A+ for the black Tandy leather dye. I bought a quart(or is a litre) and it is really black and fairly cheap!

[Tony Pridmore]

I'm a big fan of Fiebing's USMC Black (http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/site-search-results.aspx?sectionpath=3&processor=content&p_keyword=usmc+black). A few years ago Mark Gardner (http://markgardnerstudio.com/section/51478_Vessels.html) recommended it during a local demo. One try is all it took for me to be hooked.