Ferric Nitrate for curly maple.

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

I have some very curly maple that I want to do a riser for a 3 piece bow out of. I love the color and look of the old muzzle loaders. Here is a sample piece. Anyone done it?

[Pat B]

That'll knock your eyes out. 

[mmattockx]

Paging Mr. Eric Krewson...

That is a gorgeous piece of maple, will make a beautiful bow.


Mark

[Longcruise]

I have two curly maple riser blocks ready to go.  Just tested one with the ferric nitrate mix.  This surface has no special prep done on it.  With a finely sanded finish the dark portions will be a little lighter.

I've also used it on veneers with good results.

[KenH]

 I use a Ferric Ebonizer stain frequently on my musical instruments.  Vinegar, a wad of steel wool and about a week of 'cooking' time, then filter numerous times through coffee filters to get rid of most of the residue.

[Roy from Pa]

Very nice...

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

One of the issues I have to figure out is the color. Traditionally you oil the wood after the ferric nitrate.  The sample I did above has a coat of oil and then minwax polyurethane.

The oil brings back out the reddish colors. Without the oil, it is brown.

Of course oil will not work on veneers for laminating.  I have some aniline dyes. Going to wipe it down with a coat of yellow or light orange to see if that brings back some color.

[Eric Krewson]

Longcruise, did you blush your test stain with heat after you put the aqufortis on?

I use the stuff a lot, both Ferric nitrate and Aqufortis. For bow risers i suspect ferric nitrate crystals would be the way to go because you wouldn't have to neutralize the wood afterward like you have to do with aqufortis. In my experience I found that a heavy application of aqufortis will continue to get darker over time.

Most of the gun builders use aqufortis or ferric nitrate and some other stain to achieve the exact color they want, the combinations are endless.

Here is a ferric nitrate stained gizmo, blushed and finished with satin poly. This is Roy's just after I made it.

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

Eric, do you get any difference between the crystals and Aqua Fortis? I used the crystal as they were pretty cheap for a large container of them. Not sure if Longcruise blushed his, but I would say he probably did.

I did sand the above sample back a bit and then used a coat of tung oil before the poly. The oil really made it go from muddy brown to the vibrant color.

[Longcruise]

Eric, yes, I blushed it with a hair dryer.

This was ferric nitrate solution made with the crystals from The Science Company.   I neutralize with baking soda when applied to lams even though it's said to be unnecessary.   I had a bad experience with a pistol holster that I had stained black with it.  I was never sure if the ferric nitrate was the sole problem or if the leather got damp without my realizing it. Rust!

I have made aqua fortis the old fashioned way but the ferric nitrate crystals are much easier to make, work with, and store.

[Eric Krewson]

I have used Jim Kibler's iron nitrate liquid and aquafortis, on all the M/L boards there are a lot of folk that use the crystals and find them no different from the liquids but much cheaper.

I just finished this stock with regular aqufortis and an oil finish.



 

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

Eric that is gorgeous! I plan on doing one of Jim's kits this spring.

[jrstegner]

I tried it, won't do it again. It takes too much heat to change color. The riser delaminated on the glue line.

[Eric Krewson]

I have used the stuff a bunch and never used excessive heat to blush it, there is a proper technique to get the desired effect. I use a heat gun and keep it moving all the time, quick passes, lightly hit a spot and go back over and over as it turns. I have my stock finished with sharp edges and don't want to scorch and blacken any wood where it is thin.

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

I was going to stick a piece in my box heater that I will use to cure lams and see if that would blush it? For the small pieces I have tried, I used a heat gun, but Eric is right, the edges are easy to toast.

[Flem]

How hot does your box get?
Another way to get a deeper color with chemical stains, is to pre- treat the wood with tannic acid first.
The tannins in wood are what cause the color reaction. Maple is light on tannins, so pre-treating can add quite a bit of color potential.

[Eric Krewson]

Tannic acid will turn your wood almost black after a treatment with aquafortis, the gun stockers then rub the stain back to give a stock light and dark areas to replicate wear patterns from age.

[Flem]

What he said is true, but only in the context of intent. If you don't want super dark, you lower the concentration of tannin. You can also lower the concentration of nitrate for less color.
As with any finish that is new to the finisher, it's prudent to to do a sample board that shows every step of the finishing process. Then you know exactly what to expect and how to get it.

[Longcruise]

I've never encountered any maple that didn’t have enough tannin in it to give up the color.  I have not played much with variations in the amount of crystals but so far it seems that the reaction is more based on the wood than the formula.  But like I said, not much experimenting.

It's also a good choice for plain grain maple if you're just after a pleasing brown reddish finish.  It’s fast and easy with no fuss or mess.

[Mad Max]

I know I keep showing these pictures.
These only have dye on them




But it doesn't show up very good on the sides