How to stabilise and dye Olive wood ?

[Bobismiles]

Hello all,

After seeing your beautiful creations, I want to try the adventure!
I have some olive wood that I would like to use.

Do you know how to stain it and stabilize it?
I have some cactus juice with pigments and my various attempts have not worked... ... (dry for 1 hour in the oven at 100°C, let it cool then vacuum for 5 hours in the cactus juice with the pigment then cook at 95°C for 2 hours).

I have read on the forum that a solution would be to put it under vacuum with acetone, then let it dry and then stabilize it.
Have you ever tried this?

If not, do you have any advice to give me? I must admit that I don't know what to try to achieve this.

Thank you for your advice,

Good evening to all,

Bobi

 

[KenB259]

Not an expert by any means, but here are my thoughts. First off oily woods are not good candidates for stabilizing. Woods that you are going to stabilize need to be dried in 214 degree heat for 24 hours ,cooled and then put in a vacuum with stabilizing resin until the bubbles stop. You also should know most woods don't even need to be stabilized.

 

[sorcerertd]

Hi Bobi, and welcome to IAP.

While I do not have experience in stabilizing wood, I can certainly second Ken's last sentence that most woods do not need to be stabilized. That's a technique used to make punky (soft, slightly rotted), cracked, or very porous materials solid enough to keep them from falling apart while turning. I have never heard of olive wood being stabilized and it would have to be in pretty bad shape to need it. As for dye without stabilizing, I've used aniline dye with good results on curly maple and a few others here have said the same. It would be interesting to see how well olive takes dye and what the finished product looks like.

This Keda sampler pack will last a very long time for pens. A little goes a very long way.

 

[Monty]

I tried to stabilize olive wood once and made a gloppy oily mess and ruined my CJ.
I personally would not pull a vacuum on acetone. You will end up with flammable acetone vapors in your shop which could be disastrous.

 

[egnald]

I don't know about stabilizing olive; however, you could bake it to make sure it is as dried out as you can get it before casting as moisture is one of the things detrimental to casting. - Dave

 

[Bobismiles]

Not an expert by any means, but here are my thoughts. First off oily woods are not good candidates for stabilizing. Woods that you are going to stabilize need to be dried in 214 degree heat for 24 hours ,cooled and then put in a vacuum with stabilizing resin until the bubbles stop. You also should know most woods don't even need to be stabilized.

Hi KenB, thank you for your answer. Maybe I will try your solution, but 24h at 214° It's my wife who will be happy. I'm just kidding, I have a small oven ready for

Hi Bobi, and welcome to IAP.

While I do not have experience in stabilizing wood, I can certainly second Ken's last sentence that most woods do not need to be stabilized. That's a technique used to make punky (soft, slightly rotted), cracked, or very porous materials solid enough to keep them from falling apart while turning. I have never heard of olive wood being stabilized and it would have to be in pretty bad shape to need it. As for dye without stabilizing, I've used aniline dye with good results on curly maple and a few others here have said the same. It would be interesting to see how well olive takes dye and what the finished product looks like.

This Keda sampler pack will last a very long time for pens. A little goes a very long way.

Hi Sorcerertd, thank you your answer. My wood isn't rotted, that's maybe why it doesn't work...
Your link is very interesting, I've been thinking about it for a while now and I'm more interested in tinting it than in stabilising it. I thought it was necessary to do both to get good results. How did you proceed to stain the wood with the aniline dye ?

I tried to stabilize olive wood once and made a gloppy oily mess and ruined my CJ.
I personally would not pull a vacuum on acetone. You will end up with flammable acetone vapors in your shop which could be disastrous.

Hi Monty, thank you for your advice, I don't like the idea of vacuuming the acetone.

I don't know about stabilizing olive; however, you could bake it to make sure it is as dried out as you can get it before casting as moisture is one of the things detrimental to casting. - Dave

Hi Dave, Thank you. I'll try again and let the piece of olive tree dry well like KenB said.

Thanks to all

Bobi

 

[sorcerertd]

How did you proceed to stain the wood with the aniline dye ?

Aniline dye is mixed with alcohol. I turned my blanks and then applied it as it does not sink too deep (at least not for me). The grain did raise a little with getting it wet, but I was able to lightly sand it without taking all the color off. Obviously, the more you use, the darker it will get.

 

[Bobismiles]

Aniline dye is mixed with alcohol. I turned my blanks and then applied it as it does not sink too deep (at least not for me). The grain did raise a little with getting it wet, but I was able to lightly sand it without taking all the color off. Obviously, the more you use, the darker it will get.

View attachment 332125

Thank you for your answer, I will think about this solution,
The rendering is top bravo !
how do you do the finishing once you've applied the color? varnish?

Thanks for your help,

Bobi

 

[sorcerertd]

Thank you for your answer, I will think about this solution,
The rendering is top bravo !
how do you do the finishing once you've applied the color? varnish?

Thanks for your help,

Bobi

Thank you. That one was fun. It was finished with GluBoost CA. You'll probably see that mentioned here quite a bit. There are plenty of other ways to finish a pen, but CA is probably the most durable for wood (though not the easiest to master).

 

[MedWoodWorx]

Thank you for your answer, I will think about this solution,
The rendering is top bravo !
how do you do the finishing once you've applied the color? varnish?

Thanks for your help,

Bobi

I work with olive wood a lot since i can easily find it here in greece and also because its my favourite wood species. You can finish it any way you like ca, pens plus even plain oil, it all depends the look you are after. Make sure you sand it to a high grit and it will show you the way, cheers.
Olive wood is a magic wood..

 

[Bobismiles]

Thank you. That one was fun. It was finished with GluBoost CA. You'll probably see that mentioned here quite a bit. There are plenty of other ways to finish a pen, but CA is probably the most durable for wood (though not the easiest to master).

Hi Sorcerertd, thanks for sharing your experience
I'll give it a try then! One last beginner question, what is CA?

I work with olive wood a lot since i can easily find it here in greece and also because its my favourite wood species. You can finish it any way you like ca, pens plus even plain oil, it all depends the look you are after. Make sure you sand it to a high grit and it will show you the way, cheers.
Olive wood is a magic wood..

Hi MedWoodWorx, Thank you for your answer. Beautiful pen, I love it !
If it's not a secret, where do you order the wood ?

Thanks guys !

Bobi

 

[MedWoodWorx]

Hi Sorcerertd, thanks for sharing your experience
I'll give it a try then! One last beginner question, what is CA?


Hi MedWoodWorx, Thank you for your answer. Beautiful pen, I love it !
If it's not a secret, where do you order the wood ?

Thanks guys !

Bobi

thank you, well i don't buy blanks i cut, dry and prepare my own blanks

 

[MedWoodWorx]

Hi Sorcerertd, thanks for sharing your experience
I'll give it a try then! One last beginner question, what is CA?


Hi MedWoodWorx, Thank you for your answer. Beautiful pen, I love it !
If it's not a secret, where do you order the wood ?

Thanks guys !

Bobi

Ca is short for cyanoacrylate glue or super glue, u use it as a varnish while the ben tube is still on the lathe. Pens plus is a special liquid made from wax, shellac and walnut oil that is used as a friction polish again while the tube is on the lathe. It leaves a smooth finish that is more natural than ca i.e. you can feel the wood. Check out youtube, cheers