Ebony alternative

[David Bolson]

I’m building a cabinet with frame and panel front and sides. I’d like to have very black frames that I can finish the same way I finish the panels. Probably with Osmo.

I’m thinking of making the frames out of Maple, dye with India Ink, sand again, India Ink again, and then finish.

is this the best alternative?

[Thomas Eustis]

White oak will go almost black with a really strong iron acetate solution. If you want it to go as dark as possible use some strong tea on the wood first then do iron acetate.

[Stewart Lang]

Rubio Monocoat's Intense Black Pre-color will take anything to pure black (even maple, if it's water-popped). It's what it was designed for, and works more efficiently than India Ink imo. And simpler than making a solution.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I've used Fiebing's Leather Dye to turn ash black, it worked great. It soaks in fast, too, and dries fast.

[Jim Becker]

Leather dye has become my go-to for getting something very black.

[Jacob Mac]

Leather dye has become my go-to for getting something very black.

Can you buff it after you dye it? I'm thinking ebony plugs and splines for G&G.

[Jim Becker]

Can you buff it after you dye it? I'm thinking ebony plugs and splines for G&G.
I haven't tried that specifically, but you'd want it clear coated as it's alcohol soluble...at least the Angus brand I use it. I originally bought it for guitar work, but use it to do a windsor-like chair made from a combination of reclaimed chestnut and white oak. It turned out stellar. I clear coated it with matte waterborne.

[Rob Luter]

The handle on this chisel hammer is soft maple with India ink and a coat of clear semi gloss poly spray. It looks quite a bit like ebony.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48235805522_144e63c646_k.jpg

[Jim Becker]

One think to keep in mind is that real ebony isn't isn't a bland black color normally...it has grain and color variations in many cases. But that's not something that's easy to duplicate with "ebonization", regardless of how it's done. If the end game is "black" or dark brown wood accents, ebonized material will work fine...it just needs to be protected a little because the color is only "skin deep".

[Jim Dwight]

I've only used black ink on softwood and only top coated it with water borne poly but I have been very happy with the results. I would try a small offcut with the ink + Osmo combination but I think it will work. The water borne poly disolves a little of the ink but it doesn't dissolve enough to affect the deep black color. If you look close, you can still see grain and any knots but everything is pretty uniformly black. That is what I wanted. Since Osmo is not water borned, it may not remove any ink but, on the other hand, you rub it on and that may move the ink around some. But my guess is it will work.

[ChrisA Edwards]

This was General Finishes Wood Stain, Black.

https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/i452/cedwards874/GeorgeBench.jpg

[David Bolson]

Rob, the handle on the hammer looks like what I’m trying to achieve.

I also looked up Rubio black and it’s very expensive. General finishes makes something similar which is much cheaper. Hard to tell on Chris’ picture, but it looks right.

I think I would try one of those two methods before I try the leather dye.

Thanks!

[ChrisA Edwards]

Here's what I used. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003HDAB88/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61tIrUE1pjL._AC_SL1000_.jpg

[Bill Dufour]

Try some ammonia on oak and leave it in a sealed container for a week to fume the oak. A five gallon bucket that held chlorine tablets is ideal. Or an olive barrel. Much easier to find a h2o and ammonia solution then anhydrous. Also much cheaper. Just realize it will raise the grain. The longer you leave it the darker it will get. and the deeper in it will go.
In my limited experience overnite the colors will go in about 1/8"
Bil lD.

Found this site for photos.
https://ukrainedc.com/bog-oak-natural-fumed-oak/

(https://ukrainedc.com/bog-oak-natural-fumed-oak/)https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1910-wide-dark-fumed-oak-mission-arts-131467584

[Prashun Patel]

I have used Transtint, and India ink. Both work fine.

[Jim Becker]

I found the photos of the chair, etc., I mentioned above...this is Angelus leather dye in both red and black with a matte waterborne clearcoat

Test pieces (reclaimed chestnut with grain the depth of the Grand Canyon :D ) The black was for the chair and the red is for a small table I designed to accompany it.
453438

The chair after dye and clear coating with matte waterborne. (I take no credit for the chair design...this is Brian Holcombe's creation and it's wonderful)
453440 453439

[John K Jordan]

I’m building a cabinet with frame and panel front and sides. I’d like to have very black frames that I can finish the same way I finish the panels. Probably with Osmo.
I’m thinking of making the frames out of Maple, dye with India Ink, sand again, India Ink again, and then finish.
is this the best alternative?

I frequently use ebony for woodturning and one of it's features is extremely fine grain. I'd keep that in mind when picking a wood to ebonize.
I know woodturners who use holly or maple then blacken with black leather dye, looks good. A wood that is ring porous or coarser grained might look black and look nice but look nothing like ebony. As always, try some samples of any candidate!

I agree much ebony is not jet black. In fact I look for ebony that has some brown features. Especially on woodturnings, jet black ebony when polished to a gloss can look just like plastic!

JKJ

[Danny Nevala]

Tom McLaughlin did a Shop Night Live episode on ebonizing a couple weeks back. I found it very informative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUibLIDF3uA

[glenn bradley]

Can you buff it after you dye it? I'm thinking ebony plugs and splines for G&G.

For splines and plugs I would just use real ebony. It is expensive but, smaller pieces are generally available at suppliers. You can Google 'ebonizing wood' for a lot of ideas. None really look like ebony to me with the unfortunate exception of . . . plastic. Real ebony is not black just as ivory is not white; there are many hues that make the appearance distinctive.

The smaller the part, the less obvious the substitution. this is good news for plugs and such but, not so helpful to David with his frames. For David I would select a black or blackish color that suits you and go with it rather than trying to simulate ebony in large pieces. I have taken very pale mahogany to an ebony like look with blue, black and red dyes. As Stewart mentioned, next time I think I will just buy a product to get the result I am after with less fuss.

[John K Jordan]

...Real ebony is not black just as ivory is not white; there are many hues that make the appearance distinctive.


I wonder if Persimmon from the US (related to ebony, Diospyros virginiana) might be a substitute if it would take dye.
Also called White Ebony or American Ebony: https://www.wood-database.com/persimmon/
Persimmon is sometimes available through wood dealers.
I haven't tried applying dye but if the black took perhaps the frames would look and feel like ebony. Might be worth a try.

Persimmon lidded boxes, no finish
453453

My favorite Ebony variation is sometimes called Black and White Ebony. Excellent for woodturning but harder to find.
453452


JKJ