Stain to “yellow” hickory ramrod

[CyrusP]

Hello all. Just finishing my build and want my hickory ram rod to be a “yellow-ish” stain. Not solid yellow obviously but a opaque(?) yellow tinted stain. Ideally I love the look of the dark “scratch” or grain beneath that yellowish stain. Would my Permalyn finish achieve the yellow I am looking for? The ramrod is a light natural color. Thanks in advance.

 

[ZUG]

Hickory is very difficult to stain. Most of the stain will be wiped off during handling. You can try to flame the hickory then apply the stain or leave off the stain and steel wool back the charred wood surface to leave a light browned toned look.

 

[CyrusP]

Thanks! Learn something new every day.

 

[colimr]

You could try an Amber shellac hand wiped 3 or four coats it's called a French polish

 

[springfield art]

Hello all. Just finishing my build and want my hickory ram rod to be a “yellow-ish” stain. Not solid yellow obviously but a opaque(?) yellow tinted stain. Ideally I love the look of the dark “scratch” or grain beneath that yellowish stain. Would my Permalyn finish achieve the yellow I am looking for? The ramrod is a light natural color. Thanks in advance.

Try, on a similar piece of wood, some common Rit dye, a strong mix. Bet it would give the yellow you want, kind of translucent. Let us know how it works. For $1.59 and a cup of water, it might be worth a 'shot', no pun intended.

 

[user 34300]

I use black leather dye. For finish I use carnuba wax. I put the wax on a rag and rub the rod fast enough the melt the wax. Spinning the rod in a lathe works great to melt the wax. Both can be refreshed as they wear.

You can get lacquer stain in any color at a real paint store. It works like leather dye. Maybe they have yellow lather dye? A final possible idea is artists' oil paint. You may be describing "raw sienna".

 

[user 48702]

You can use Fiebing Leather Dye (Alcohol Based). The have a Yellow, but it is a fairly bright goldfinch yellow. Click on the link and enter color, they also have a color chart. Final color will depend on how light or dark the wood is.
Fiebing Leather Dye

 

[CyrusP]

Great ideas all. Thanks.

 

[user 48702]

Great ideas all. Thanks.

Hey Cyrus, I have some of the Fiebings Yellow on hand. If you want, I can stain an end of one of the ramrod blanks I bought from TOW, shoot a photo and see if it works for you. If you were close by, I would pour off some for you. I'm sitting on a quart that I've had for about 30 years.

 

[CyrusP]

Very kind of you sir, but I’m going to flame this thing and see how that looks. I’ve seen some pics online and I like it. Thanks everyone!

 

[Treetop]

Check out some online videos of iron nitrate. It will make hickory colorful.

 

[Fly Navy]

You could try paint. Pick a color you like, paint the rod, let it sit for a minute, then wipe it off and it should color the wood.

 

[Nor Cal Mikie]

Maybe try weak coffee? On a rag, give it a rub and see what you get.
When you find your color, go over it with a clear finish.

 

[FlinterNick]

From working on hickory flooring … we mopped the floor with hot water before staining dark worked ok with minor blotching.

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

I use the dye as well. If I want it darker I use tannic acid then aqua Fortis and blush it to a reddish brown. For a yellow the dye should work for you. Test it on a scrap if you have any.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I make hickory arrows from time to time, I don't find hickory hard to stain although it may take several coats. I use Minwax or Fiblings leather dye

This hickory arrow has Minwax golden oak stain on the bottom and medium brown leather dye on the top.

The stain that really makes hickory pop is aqufortis, this is after blushing.

I like to make my ramrods disappear under the barrel and match them to the stock stain.

This one had aqufortis followed by diluted mahogany leather dye applied until I had a match with the stock wood.

 

[CyrusP]

Excellent info everyone! Thank you!