Replies

1. 
   RickL | Aug 16, 2006 08:49pm | #1

   We do a lot of fuming and while I don't know of any surefire method off the top of my head to identify fumed wood I do know you can lighten fumed wood with oxcalic acid or wood bleach.

   Fumed finishes are deeper penetrating than stain so if you cut the piece in half the fumed finish would be deeper. Not that you are going to cut the piece in half.

   Taking some solvent in a bottom corner would be your best bet. The solvent will remove the clear and stain and not touch the fuming. I'll try and see on a piece of fumed oak I have in the shop later. We fume timbers with anhydrous ammonia...the strongest ammonia you can get.

2. 
   bigfootnampa | Aug 16, 2006 08:54pm | #2

   You have to have enough experience to tell by looking.  It sounds to me like an ill designed project.  I would first think about using a glaze/toner technique to lighten the colors without stripping.  Stains are very difficult to remove also... stripping will usually have a minimal effect.   Stripping will remove paint coatings and tinted clear coats but stains are soaked into the wood and fuming changes the chemistry within the wood... in both cases starting over is likely to require removal of the surfaces to quite a depth... likely to destroy or severely degrade the piece that is supposed to be enhanced.

1. 
   Razzbere | Aug 16, 2006 09:24pm | #3

   Thanks for your response. I have done some investigation of the suspected pieces but since the surfaces are so dark, and I don't want to take the chance and damage the pieces. So I am currently stuck with verifying if the pieces are really fumed. I have stripped a couple of pieces already and although these were stained, I was able to get off enough of the stain with the topcoat to really make a difference. The customer is happy with the results thus far but she told me that she thinks that the more expensive pieces (Stickley knock-offs) may have been fumed before finishing.

   If I cannot positively verify that this is so then I will just have to give back the work and not take the risk of stripping the finish only to see that fuming process was used to color the wood.

1. 
   RickL | Aug 16, 2006 10:48pm | #4

   Didn't you read my post on lightening fumed wood with oxcalic acid? I know it works on new wood but I don't know  if older fumed wood is more resistant.

2. 
   bigfootnampa | Aug 17, 2006 08:33am | #5

   I'd suggest that you try to strip a small area in an area that is not normally visible.  Perhaps the underside of a low stretcher or the bottom of a table etc.  That should give you a pretty definitive test... whether the piece is fumed or not you'll know (approximately) how effective your stripping will be.  I sometimes do this with my pocketknife, used as a scraper.

1. 
   Razzbere | Aug 17, 2006 03:23pm | #6

   Thaks for your kind responses, I'll give that idea a try.

3. 
   EarlJ | Aug 18, 2006 03:13am | #7

   Hi,

   I have a couple of Stickley pieces which have been fumed and I have fumed some reproductions I have built. What I have noticed from the antiques and the repros is that the ray flake figure in fumed quartersawn oak is less pronounced and tends to blend a little more with the surrounding grain. In other words the rays react also. This compares with staining with an aniline dye method that has a tendency to "pop" the characteristic ray flakes as they don't absorb the dye due to their density.

   In reading about the Stickley method, they had large ammonia fuming chambers to give the pieces the initial color and they would come back in and dye stain the areas of the pieces to even out the color prior to final finishing. So there could well be more thatn one coloring medium used in the piece you discuss.

   Hope this helps a wee bit.

   Regards,  Earl J

    

1. 
   Razzbere | Aug 18, 2006 04:44am | #8

   It sure helped a lot Earl. Thanks for the heads up on the ray flecks.

1. 
   QCInspector | Aug 19, 2006 07:26pm | #9

   Look inside or under the piece in question. If it was fumed it will be darkened on all surfaces with the exception of any secondary woods. If stained, it would be unlikely that the maker spent any time applying the stain on any areas that did't show. At least that's what I remember from my summer vacations as a teenager stripping furniture in my fathers refinishing shop. That was a crummy job.;-)