Staining limbs under glass

[cunruhshoot]

I am getting ready to glue up  a laminated longbow with Tonkin Cane Bamboo. The bamboo is very yellow and I would like to give it a darker look. If I stain the bamboo will it hinder the "Smooth on" from mating the bamboo to the glass? The laminations come from Bingham.

[Bowjunkie]

It depends on what kind of stain you use. I would not use oily/waxy stuff like Minwax, etc for fear of delamination. I've used aniline dyes with no issues whatsoever. They come in different versions that can be mixed in alcohol, oil, or water.

I prefer the alcohol-based anilines because they dry very fast and add no moisture to the wood. You can stain them and glue them up later the same day. I mix the powder with Denatured Alcohol which you can buy in most department stores and paint stores.

Oil-based can cause glue adhesion issues.

Water-based can warp and twist your lams... and of course, it adds alot of moisture to them, so you'd need to completely dry them out afterwards.

Regardless of which you use, after applying the dye, go over them with a stiff nylon brush, then a soft bristled brush, to remove any dye residue.

I only bother to dye the two lam surfaces that show under the clear glass, and then the edges of the bow after it is shaped and sanded.

You can find aniline dyes at woodworker supply companies such as...

Woodworker.com

Woodcraft.com

[Dmaxshawn]

I stained some Tonkin cane and it came out great. Green In between the nodes and brown nodes.  Didn't effect the the glue.

[east_tx_pineknot]

I used Transtint Dyes - Dark Walnut mixed with Denatured Alcohol to stain this one.  Came out great!  I got the Transtint Dye from Woodcraft.

  http://www.woodcraft.com/product/2001718/2462/transtint-dyes-dark-walnut.aspx  

 

[Dmaxshawn]

Here's a green Tonkin cane

 

[cunruhshoot]

Thanks guys  - the bows look awesome. I went ahead and left this one alone. The friend I was making it for actually liked the yellow of the Bamboo. Which is good because this will give me more time to research the sites and stains you all recommended. Thanks again

[MoeM]

I used dark red waterbesed stain once, glueing with thin laminating raisin- it took the exeeding pigments and washed them everywhere- it ended up in a mess like a sloughterhouse.
When I then wettend the riser during final sand I always got some red everywhere again- In future I´ll only use alcohol/anilin based stains for sure!