Replies

1. 
   saschafer | Dec 07, 2007 08:27am | #1

   Yes, it's true. I've attached a photo of shavings I planed from a piece of white oak, before and after the piece was fumed overnight using household ammonia.

   Some suggestions:

   1) Make your fuming chamber as airtight as possible. That way, the ammonia gas won't be leaking out of the chamber as fast as it's evaporating from the solution.

   2) Use as large a flat, shallow pan (or pans) as you have for holding the ammonia. You want the ammonia to get out of the solution and into the air as efficiently as possible, so the more surface area to evaporate from, the better.

   3) Be generous in the amount of ammonia you use. A large piece may require a half-gallon or more.

   -Steve

    

   
   

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   Edited 12/7/2007 12:28 am ET by saschafer

   
1. 
   autodave | Dec 07, 2007 08:35am | #2

   Thanks,Steve

2. 
   JimV | Dec 07, 2007 05:41pm | #3

   In order to hasten the fuming effect when using household ammonia, put the ammonia is shallow glass pan and place the pan on a hot plate set at it's lowest setting. The ammonia dissolved in the water will vaporize at a fast rate. Do NOT boil the ammonia, as this will put water vapor into your fuming tent and do bad things to your wood.Jim
   "There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other is that heat comes from the furnace." - Aldo Leopold

2. 
   JohnWW | Dec 07, 2007 06:48pm | #4

   The table is new unfinished wood?

   John W.

1. 
   autodave | Dec 07, 2007 11:23pm | #8

   Hi John,yes, my table is unfinished quatersawn white oak,I have not assembled it yet but it is small(28 inches tall,16inches wide)

3. 
   colebearanimals | Dec 07, 2007 09:41pm | #5

   Hi autodave,

           If your table isn't assembled,fume the parts before putting it together. This will allow a much smaller tent that will give a higher concentration of ammonia.

                                                      Paul

4. 
   knothole | Dec 07, 2007 10:02pm | #6

      Blueprint printing cos. use the industral ammonia and usually have some used ammmonia that they will sell. Thats what I have used, works well.

    I also put a small heater in the tent as it will speed up the process. I have used it on cherry and had good results. 

      DO NOT BREATHE THE FUMES!!!!

5. 
   yotonyb | Dec 07, 2007 10:13pm | #7

   Not all household ammonia is the same.  Concentration may vary from store to store and brand name to brand name.  The strongest household ammonia solution I've found off-the-shelf is 10% from my local Ace Hardware, touted as "janitorial" strength, although I'm betting that's not an industry standard term!  Just look at the container and make sure you're getting the strongest solution available.

   It'll work and, once finished, you'll get a very nice deep brown with some golden highlights in the quarter-sawn rays in unfinished white oak.  While stronger would be better for a faster deeper color change, there's plenty of excellent positive experience here on the forum using off-the-shelf household ammonia.

   I've also had modest success fuming previously finished oak pieces.  There were a couple of earlier projects that had some ghastly combination of Minwax and/or Bartley's stains and a couple of coats of varnish, and the ammonia succeeded in penetrating the finish and shifting the color to something more acceptable

   Even though it's only a 10% solution, its concentrated vapors are still dangerous and fuming should been done outside.

   Good luck and good skill!

   tony b.

1. 
   nazard | Dec 08, 2007 09:15am | #9

   Tony,

   Do you remember an article in FWW about George Frank fuming an entire bank lobby back in the '20's to correct a bad finish job?  I could not find the back issue but IIRC it was early '80's.

   -Jerry

1. 
   DanG | Dec 09, 2007 10:12am | #11

   FWW #14, Jan/Feb 1979, Page 34The story is also, of course, in his book, "Adventures in Wood Finishing." Dan

1. 
   nazard | Dec 09, 2007 10:50am | #12

   Dan,

   Many thanks!  Gotta get that book.

   -Jerry

6. 
   user-263741 | Dec 08, 2007 09:17pm | #10

   I've done just that. Made an airtight box from cheap aluminum coated insulation board from the Borg and duct tape. The process is pretty amazing, it not only colors the outside but the inside as well. If you left it in long enough your wood will be dark all the way through. Even after a day the color penetrates quite a bit.