Using lye on wood

[Len Graves]

I recently came upon someones thread on using lye to enhance the grain in a maple gun stock. Could you who have done this run me through the procedure again. Specifically; Do you use heat as one would with aquafortis? What is the strength of the lye? How long do I leave it on? Does repeat applications increase its value? As you can see I am really interested in the procedure, but also apprehensive. Thanks in advance. Len

 

[GobblerKnob]

Len, I've never used it on maple but I have on white oak and cherry. I used Easy-Off oven cleaner because I couldn't find lye proper.

I sprayed it on then hosed it off with a garden hose. Make sure you wear eye protection as well latex gloves. This stuff is caustic! I let the wood dry, knocked down the snakes head (read: any raised grain)with a light sanding and sealed it. It's pretty straightforward, really. The top photo is a turkey call with white oak and Brazillian cherry. The bottom photo is a cherry-stocked fowler. Hope this helps ~ Rick

 

[qtrhrs7]

G. K.,

I really like the way that white oak turned out!! And, the cherry was enhanced, IMHO; and by a simple means. :thumbsup:

 

[jimmytheshank]

Zonie's the expert on that lye treatment. There have been plenty who've asked about it. Myself included. I never heard of using Easy-Off though. Hey, if it works, it works. :bow:

 

[Stophel]

Lye reacts with the tannic acid in the wood. Wood with more tannic acid will produce a deeper color.

Cherry is pretty high in tannic acid, and lye will turn it red.

Maple is not terribly high in tannic acid, and the amount will vary from piece to piece. I have tried it on several pieces of sugar maple. Some color just a little bit, some color really nicely, and some don't color at all. I can imagine that if you wash your stock with a tannic acid solution befor lye application, you can darken the color. Haven't tried this yet, but I will. Just gather up a bunch of acorns and boil them. That should produce plenty of tannic acid.

Just like with Aqua Fortis, it's a chemical reaction, not really a "stain", and it does what it does, more applications won't really change it any (also, just like with A.F., it does need to be slopped on heavily). No heat is required.

Here's the best looking result on one of my sugar maple blanks:

This blank is MINE, and is going to be used on "The Ultimate Rifle"...

My lye is Red Devil Lye, which is pure stuff. Comes in a plastic can you get at the grocery store (drain cleaner). It is caustic, and will eat your fingerprints off. If you really want to be authentic, you can use wood ashes.

 

[Len Graves]

I used a cut off piece of the stock I am going to stain and tried the lye (red devil). on half of the scrap.It seemed to darken the wood only slightly. I understand this is not a stain. but a process to bring out the figure in the wood. After stopping the lye with vinegar on my scrap piece I stained it and then put on a coat of true oil to see what the color would be. I really could not tell much difference in grain contrast. Thought I might have done something incorrectly. Thanks for your advice. Len

 

[Zonie]

I recently came upon someones thread on using lye to enhance the grain in a maple gun stock.
Probably me.
Could you who have done this run me through the procedure again. Specifically; Do you use heat as one would with aquafortis?
No. Heat has no effect on it. What is the strength of the lye?
About a tablespoon in a cup of water. Note: Add the lye to the water. Do NOT pour water onto dry lye.
How long do I leave it on?
Just until it is totally dry.
Does repeat applications increase its value?
As was mentioned the lye brings the tannin in the wood to the surface. Additional coats of lye water won't have much if any affect.
As you can see I am really interested in the procedure, but also apprehensive.
Apprehension is a good thing when dealing with lye. It will eat your skin or your eyeballs so be careful with it. Thanks in advance. Len

From a later post:

"I used a cut off piece of the stock I am going to stain and tried the lye (red devil). on half of the scrap.It seemed to darken the wood only slightly.... I really could not tell much difference in grain contrast. Thought I might have done something incorrectly."
No, you probably did everything correctly.
As was mentioned above, each piece of wood will react differently. Some woods have more tannin in them than others.
The effect I'm looking for when using lye is to increase the contrast between the end grain on curly wood which is exposed on the side surfaces of the board and the lighter grained wood that is running parallel with the surface of the board.
I really don't expect to see a lot of darkening on maple.
The darker Cherry as was mentioned will darken notably and a dark wood like Walnut may turn almost black if lye is used on it.

 

[Len Graves]

Thanks again Zonie. I have used lye for cherry, but this is the first time I had heard of using it on maple. When I first put the lye on my test piece it turned dark almost a dark honey color and the figure popped out. Boy I thought had it. Then as it dried everything went back as before. I then tried a couple of stains and could see little difference from a control piece. My guess is you are correct about some wood not "taking".I have a particular nice piece of wood from Pecatonica nearly finished and don't want to screw up now.

 

[Stophel]

Lye is used to neutralize Aqua Fortis. Lye does not need to be neutralized. Just rinse it out with water.

 

[Dave Young]

Hey Zonie, you are still using vinegar after the lye arn't you?

 

[Len Graves]

I used quite a strong solution of lye. Since it is a base and can be quite caustic I used a mild acid to neutralize it (vinegar). I just didn't want the lye to get on anything. I'm kind of a worry wart.

 

[Stophel]

It just makes your gun smell like a salad! :grin:

A lime solution would neutralize anything you have on it, acid or base. I have a sack of garden lime (calcium carbonate, though it has other stuff in it too) in the shop, just for such purposes. By the way, lime will neutralize Aqua Fortis, but it dulls the color.

 

[Zonie]

Yes, I still use vinegar.

I think maybe Stophel is thinking of Balsamic Vinegar when he's talking about salads? :rotf:

All kidding aside, lye is a very strong base or caustic material that seems to have a great affinity for my hide so I like the idea of neutralizing it.