Ammonia Fuming

[OldWrangler]

What does anyone know about Ammonia Fuming? I heard the term on line and it sounded interesting. It is supposed to bring out grain and figure in wood. I tried a piece of Laurel and in 2 hours the part of the blank with a faint knot had turned dark reddish brown and you could see all the details in the wood. The pic shows 2 mirror image blanks. One only dried in the sun and the other spent 2 hours in a sealed Mason jar with about 1/2" of regular household ammonia. Tomorrow I'll turn this darker piece and see how deep the color goes and if the color will sand out. I'd like to know more about this process if any of y'all have any experience with it.

 

[Rudy Vey]

I do not think the coloration goes deep at all. Ammonia fuming was the "staining" of choice for Stickley and other famous arts and crafts furniture makers for their qs white oak pieces. Personally, I would finish turn and sand the pen barrels and then fume it. Afterwards finish with CA or a lacquer finish.

 

[MarkHix]

I have been reading about it on another forum and my understanding is the color is not very deep and on larger (case clock size) peices it is hard to get it uniform. On pens it should not be a problem. I haven't tried it yet but I think you have to fume after the final sanding. Keep us posted with the results.

 

[marcruby]

If you want to do true ammonia fuming that goes fairly deep you need to use industrial ammonia (I think its called 880). You have to be super careful with the stuff and set up a fuming chamber. I suppose you could use household ammonia, but you might have to wait a few years.

Marc