Lamination Wood Prep

[JSMOFFITT03]

I have some walnut I was going to use in addition to the lams that I purchaced from kenny...  

when I ripped and sanded the walnut lams down to the right Dimensions they seemed to be a little lighter in color(the rough cutt board was really dark on the outside)...

Will this darken up when I apply the smooth on?

Can you stain the wood prior to glue up?  My initial thinking would be no,  I figured the chemicals could adversly effect the epoxy from sticking...

The walnut will be under glass...

Is there any other wood coloring treatments for laminations or is it pretty much what ever the natural color of the wood is the color of your bow?  

Thanks-Jerrod

[Robertfishes]

The walnut will darken when the smooth on hits it.. take a scrap piece and wipe some denatured alcohol on it and you will see.

[jsweka]

You can "stain" laminations prior to glue up if you choose to, but don't use an oil based stain. Use a water or alcohol based dye.  Oil stains will affect the bonding of the epoxy.

But as Robertfishes said, walnut will darken once the smooth-on hits it.

[Bowjunkie]

Good advice above. Don't use oily stuff like Minwax stains. Instead use anilines, alcohol or water based dyes. I use alcohol and have dyed lots of lams with no adhesion problems at all.

I too once thought the walnut looked too light after freshly cut and ground, so I stained it with walnut colored alcohol based aniline dye. I just wanted it a little darker, not a lot. I regretted it because after the thing was glued up, it was so dark, I couldn't make out any grain whatsoever. I may just as well have used brown or black glass.

[JSMOFFITT03]

Thanks guys...  Never new there was oil and water based stains and dyes....

Great to know,  Ill let  you guys know how it turns out....

[7 Lakes]

I like the alchol based stains.  They don't furr up the wood like water based.  They are also lighter and crisper looking.  

There is a alchol based "Walnut" stain in the arrow section of 3 Rivers.  

PS
Check that Walnut.  Wipe it with Acetone or Denatured alchol.  It will darken up substancially.  Too dark and you may as well use black glass.