Beech, tannin and ammonia

[Mark Gibney]

I can get my hands on some air dried beech which I'm thinking of using for some steam bent laminating.

I'd then like to darken the beech considerably, and to do that I'm thinking of impregnating the pieces with tannins and fuming with ammonia to get to a base darkness before using dyes / stains.

Have any of you done this before?

And if so did you brush on the tannin solution?

Is there something I can add to the tannin solution to increase its penetration into the wood fibers?

Thanks in advance.