Plane restore - black staining on tote

[Marc Kerschner]

I am in the process of restoring a Bailey No 5 and I am currently working on the tote. There is a lot of black staining that can't be sanded out. Is there a way to remove it or should I leave it as part of the character of an old tool?
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[george wilson]

That tote is Brazilian rosewood,it can become black as ebony if oil was gotten onto it. You will not be able to get it out. The pigmentation of real old rosewood will go jet black if oiled. I have some that will do that. But for the long pores of rosewood,you'd think it was ebony.

[Marc Kerschner]

Thanks for the reply George. I believe it is rosewood. If it won't come out is there a way to get the dark black color to show up consistently on the entire tote? How long does it take for the oil to blacken the wood?

[george wilson]

A guy in Norfolk rubbed oil on some old Braz. rosewood,and very soon it turned black. Try rubbing linseed oil on it. I think it will happen at least overnight,if not sooner.

[Sean Hughto]

I have several Stanleys with BR totes and knobs I sanded the laquer off or rasped to better shapes and then sanded, and then applied BLO. None turned to ebony. Like this 5 for example:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3274/3029105774_d55b79555e_o.jpg
I'm not saying you're wrong, but maybe it is another kind of oil or some other variable added to the mix to make the black?

[Brent VanFossen]

I have had good luck removing black stains from wooden handles using oxalic acid (wood bleach).

[Joe Bailey]

I have successfully used this http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/stock-work-finishing/stock-finish-strippers/old-fashioned-whiting-prod1133.aspx to pull oil stains from many types of wood (though I'm not sure I've ever tried it on something oily and tropical)

[Adam Cruea]

I tossed my #5 handle in lacquer thinner and let it set. Pulled out a lot, but I still had to end up buffing a lot out.

[Mel Miller]

As a collector, I've seen a lot of rosewood handles including some of the very first. Only a handful were anywhere near as dark as ebony. I always figured the very dark handles started out that way, or close to it.
Whatever is on the OP's handle looks more like an actual stain rather than just oil to me, but I'm as far from being an expert on stains & oils as one can get.

[Leigh Betsch]

Maybe it is a burn.

[george wilson]

No,not burned. It just depends upon how dark the rosewood was where the handle was taken. I have some cut in 1960 that will most definitely turn black as coal if it gets oiled. I have to be careful to not get any oil on it at all before applying lacquer. In fact,I won't put oil based varnish on some of it. I have use B. Rosewood since the late 50's. Some trees have very dark layers in them. Others,the majority, look more normal,like Sean's handle.

I do not advise trying to bleach the wood. You can mess it up permanently if things don't go well. You might end up with pink rosewood,or some bizarre color.

Be advised that oxalic acid is poison. Keep it off your hands.

[Lonnie Gallaher]

I thought I would comment as I am experiencing the same with a rose wood tote from a 1940s Stanley #8. I stripped the lacquer off with a paint stripper and did a final wash with lacquer thinner. The tote came out a nice medium reddish brown. The grain was well defined and I was pleased with the results. When I started to sand it with 150 grit paper it started to turn black. I figured the sanding was just bringing out the oils in the wood. So I figured a soak in lacquer thinner would lighten it up again. No so. It came out as black as when I put it in. Maybe the oxalic acid will lighten it up again.