Stain/finish question

[tunadawg]

I stained this stock with iron nitrate, blushed with a heat gun, and neutralized with lye water to bring out the reddish tone (thank you Dave Person). My question is the curl. If you look at the picture of the comb, the curl is dark and prominent. The picture of the side of the butt, you can see the curl but its kind of faded and not as prominent. Is this just the nature of wood, or should/could I have done something else to bring it out more? Maybe another round of iron nitrate, or some LMF stain? Just curious for the next time. Thanks.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Nature of wood. Curl is dependent upon how extreme the grain waves and of coarse it varies from spot to spot as well as tree to tree.

 

[HSmithTX]

You can use tannic acid before the aquafortis to darken the end grain, I suspect the side of your stock would still fade out but what is there would be more prominent. You can do these tannic acid and aquafortis applications a few times selectively to get the color you want. The downside to tannic acid is that on some wood it will make the color more 'cold' on the long grain, you can bring that back to the warmer side using stain like Maple or Honey Maple depending on if you want a more red or more yellow/brown. Play with some test pieces, just be sure you finish them as you would the stock, testing on half sanded or rough wood doesn't show the same color that finished wood does in my experience.

 

[user 34300]

Slab sawn wood give less figure on the sides of the stock. It is stronger in the wrist. Slab sawn wood gives more usable blanks per plank due to the more forgiving grain flow. It is more common today.

Quarter sawn wood shows better figure on the sides. But, the grain flow must follow the wrist to be strong enough.

Quarter sawn wood is more expensive. Cutting a log for quarter sawn is more wasteful. IF you are sawing for slabs you only get a little quarter sawn.

If you want to maximize the figure you need to play around a bit. I always start with AF. I make it as dark as possible with repeat applications and blushing. I may use tannic acid too. I then rub it back with scotchbrite. That will make the highlights pop. I then adjust the overall color with dye stains. I start with dilute stains and work up. IF it goes to far I remove some with lacquer thinner. Only when I am satisfied do I mess with the finish.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

What he said^^^^^^^^^