Walnut and sapwood questions

[Johnnyy Johnson]

I have several projects out of walnut planned. Also, I have about 600 BF of walnut I got at a great price from a local wood kiln. My problem is that most of the boards have a lot of sapwood in them. Overall, except for the price, my project lumber is nothing to brag about. I need to have a good understanding of dying the sapwood before starting any projects, as this will determine how I choose which boards to use for each project. I have done many searches in the forum for the best way to dye and match. I have come up short on getting to one conclusion. On a perfect board I like the look of using tung oil followed by shellac or poly. Is it possible to dye and get that exact look? If that is doable what brand, color and method would be a good start for me to learn? Additionally, I was out of town and stopped at a hardwood store, thinking I would pick up a few pieces of perfect walnut. Boy was I wrong, their walnut also had a lot of sw. The guy showed me the back of an old picture frame and it was covered with sw. Then he turned it around and it was all one color. Only problem it was a dark red color and I would not have known it was walnut. Could someone post a picture of a dyed walnut and point out where the sw was? I don’t want to loose the natural look of the walnut.

[Scott Holmes]

Walnut is one of the few woods that lightens with exposure to light and UV.

Coloring the sap wood to match now will cause it to be darker than the heartwood later on. As for the red walnut you saw at the store... it may have benn stained or dyed and it is possible that the red you see is the final natually lightened color of the walnut.

You may be better off dying the entire project (after the pieces are machined and sanded)

OR

Work withthe wood as it is a nd use the sw to add flair to your projects.

[Chris Fitzpatrick]

Kiln dried usually is lifeless and needs staining anyway. This is a link to a book I've found wxtremely helpful. The process is explained and is easy.

http://www.amazon.com/Foolproof-Wood...ref=pd_sim_b_3

[Scott T Smith]

Kiln dried usually is lifeless and needs staining anyway.

http://www.amazon.com/Foolproof-Wood...ref=pd_sim_b_3

Chris - this statement only applies to wood dried in a high temperature (conventional) kiln. Dehumidification (and solar) kilns dry at much lower temperatures and do not muddle the colors.

[Henry Ambrose]

Cut the sap wood out and use the good stuff.
Your super duper deal wasn't.

It won't look like first grade clear walnut no matter how much you try to stain it.

I am sorry for your trouble.

[Scott Holmes]

Johnny,

It sounds as if you have walnut with a lot of sap wood. Your best bet is to dye all the wood not just the sapwood.

I would recommend that you use TransTint dye and denatured alcohol and spray the dye no wiping needed. You will need to practice as this is not something that should be done on your ready to finish project. Pick one of the TransTint dye colors that states walnut in the name you should be good to go.

Try about 1 teaspoon (1/6th of an oz.) of TT dye in 8 oz. of DNA. This should be enough for you to get a feel for the way it works. 2nd coat of dye will make it darker. Overlaps will too, should so spray technique is important.

If you want a dark walnut color use TT Dark Walnut and go with 1 teaspoon per 12oz or so of DNA.