M14 Forum

B 2/75 · October 8th, 2010, 08:14 PM

ALCON,
Several weeks ago I posted a thread in this section regarding the ebonizing of wood with the use of vinegar, steel wool, water, and a South American tree bark powder.

Well, I've gotten the tree bark powder, and have done my first trial run of the process using a little scrap of wood.

AMAZING is all I can say

The scrap of wood I used was pine. With almost no tannin of its own in the wood, the vinegar / iron oxide solution that I had made up over the course of the last two weeks had almost no affect. On the skinny stick you can clearly see the line where it got stained slightly after dipping it in.

So I mixed up a small batch of the tree bark tea, using a half teaspoon of bark and a half cup of hot water. made a slurry, and wiped on the mix using a paper towel. Let it dry for three minutes, and then dipped it into the vinegar / iron oxide and you see the result. Almost immediately I got an INTENSELY black stain that goes deep into the wood.

I can't wait to try this on my stock in the next week or two. going to sand and raise the wood a couple of times first, like the article said to do, and then will ebonize a 40-year old brand-new white birch stock.

Should look GREAT.

MtScout · October 10th, 2010, 09:26 AM

interesting.
Thank you.

I'd like to see more photos if possible, once you get your stock finished.

B 2/75 · October 15th, 2010, 06:23 PM

Took the plunge tonight, and ebonized the birch stock.

Full process took about two hours, and could probably be as little as one hour after doing a few more stocks.

Padded on the tree bark tea to spike the tannin content of the wood, let it dry for a half-hour, and then wiped on the iron oxide-loaded vinegar.

The result was immediate and dramatic. The birch turned color from pure white to midnight black in the course of two minutes. All the woodgrain is still clearly visible, it is just black.

Right now it is mostly dry, after a couple of hours, and is flat black.

Tomorrow I'm going to put on a coat of tung oil to finish it. The color should really pop, then.

Pictures will be posted on completion. I'm happy to report that this is a pretty damn cool way to go... black gun, no paint.

82nd ABN · October 15th, 2010, 06:54 PM

Can't wait to see the stock! I see you finally got your sandpaper! Lol cool project, I'd be curious to knkwnthere sorce for the materials. Did the instructions say anything about the finish staining when it gets wet?

B 2/75 · October 15th, 2010, 09:06 PM

82nd,
Materials are all in your kitchen / garage except for the South American evergreen tea powder with which you make the tea. That comes from the taxidermy supply house shown at the bottom of the article in this link... It costs only ten bucks for enough to last a LONG time.... sorta like getting that ten pound can of gun grease - you never run out.

This thing should be completely colorfast, especially when you put on an oil finish.

Like I was saying, right now it looks like it has had a coat of Minwax dark stain put on it, and is ready for the finish coat of shellac, varnish, oil, or poly. I'm going with an oil finish.

82nd ABN · October 15th, 2010, 10:45 PM

Very cool be sure to put up some pics when you have it all wrapped up

B 2/75 · October 16th, 2010, 03:22 PM

Put on two coats of tung oil this morning, and it spent the afternoon hanging out in the open air and sun drying.

Result is excellent. The overall effect is BLACK. But the black is a bit transparent, with wood peeking through here and there. Overall, a very pleasing appearance.

B 2/75 · February 18th, 2011, 07:01 PM

Been a few months, and during that time the rifle has been out for tuning, and I've dabbled on the stock a bit too. It now has four coats of oil on it, and is ready to go.

I was asked via PM last night to post some pics of it in its finished state, so here they are.

I would say that it isn't exactly "finished", as ebonizing wood with this process lends itself to further darkening at any time, unless you use a lacquer, poly, shellac, or some other solid film-type finish. But I will say that I'm likely done messing with it for a while.

Anyway, here it is. Maunz Mfg. number 7 on a USGI oversized birch stock with a walnut handgrip. The Chinese bipod is for cleaning the rifle, not shootin' with.

Any stock will take the ebonizing process, but walnut seems to get alot blacker than the birch does... has to do with the veining and overal density of the wood. I can help should anybody want to go this route... it is an authentic early American process which I think yields a very unique and pleasing look.

BTW, this is the shootin' mat that I made over the last month or so. A pretty fun project, that in the end cost about 90 bucks... a touch more than the cheapest mats out there, less than the most dear, but it is exactly as I wanted a mat to be, and above all, I made it myself.

2336USMC · February 18th, 2011, 07:20 PM

Wow, that looks really nice and definitely unique.

You've got me thinking. I have an FN49, one of the CAI rebuilds with the replacement "mystery wood" stocks. I think it's beech. Came with a hideous sort of mud or chocolate pudding colored stain to cover up the almost white color of the wood... Might look really nice if treated like this. Thanks for posting, and great work!

BudsBoy · February 19th, 2011, 04:25 AM

Thanks for the details about coloring the stock.
Your rifle is something to be proud of for sure - - -

bad-andy · February 19th, 2011, 07:22 AM

Thanks for posting B, sure is a pertty rifle you got there.

I've got a birch that needs this treatment, now that it getting nice outside

RET DEP 04 · February 19th, 2011, 10:50 AM

Thanks for sharing the project and including sources for the tea. The end product looks great. I am interested in seeing if the lighter wood will show through with the little marks that come with day to day use. If you think about it, please, let us know how it holds up over time.

mescalito · April 5th, 2011, 09:05 AM

I really like that the pop of the wood grain is not overshadowed by the darkness of the stain. The handguard also adds something to the overall look.

Cobrarlc · April 5th, 2011, 09:28 AM

It turned out great.

etexastea · April 5th, 2011, 09:46 AM

Dang! That's what I am talking about. Black beauty!