Homemade stain out of black walnuts

[Robby Tacheny]

Just wondering if anyone has ever done this? I have read you can simmr 10 or 15 nuts in some water for several hours and get a deep brown stain. Once the liquid has been strained, they recommend a bit of vinegar and alum.

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions regarding this method?

-Beez

[Lee Schierer]

I've heard of people using a stain derived from the black walnut husks to color sap wood on walnut boards to match the color. I have no idea how it was made, but if you try husking walnuts, it will stain your hands brown. DAMHIKT.

[Robby Tacheny]

Well I have definitely heard that I should wear gloves. I've got about 600lbs or 700lbs to experiment with. My girlfriend really is ready to cut the tree down after so many nuts came off this year.

I guess I'll try it and see.

-B

[Nathan Hawkes]

I just heard about this method a few days ago. A hunter was telling me that he'd heard of people using this homemade dye to cover small animal traps; it takes the shine off the metal and apparently prevents corrosion, so he says. I have no evidence of this one way or another. I do know that the steel wool/rust method of ebonizing wood does utilize apple cider vinegar. I don't know if there are microorganizms that feed on the sugar in the vinegar, or if the acid just helps break it down. It makes sense to me that a vinegar soak before boiling might help break down some of the substances in the walnut husks before boiling. I've been thinking about trying it out myself, but I have a lot of the rust dye right now, and an entire plastic bag full of old steel wool for the next batch.

[Nathan Hawkes]

I've heard of people using a stain derived from the black walnut husks to color sap wood on walnut boards to match the color. I have no idea how it was made, but if you try husking walnuts, it will stain your hands brown. DAMHIKT.

Not only will this stain your hands, but some people (myself unfortunately included) are allergic to walnut compounds. I honestly don't know if its the poisonous juglone toxin found in walnut or some other compound, but a fair number of people are allergic to it--I've read estimates of 5-20% in different sources. Be careful people. I had to get a prescription for steroids after my legs & arms broke out in a severe poison-ivy like rash. Its still my FAVORITE wood, (with cherry a close second).

[Paul Atkins]

Years ago I had a 5 gallon bucket of claro walnuts I picked up, but before I bagged them up it rained for days and filled up the bucket. For weeks I was 'going to do something with that mess' but just let it sit. After going by that bucket for months watching the level go down and the sewage smell keeping me at bay I finally poured off the liquid into another bucket and let it sit for more months. (Repeat as needed.) It must have been a year and the smell was still there but it was clear and a very nice brown. I now have about a quart of special stain (with no smell) that I use for walnut sapwood, antique repairs and of course the story of the 20 years in the making. I was thinking of replacing the water with DNA but this is a slowly evolving elixer. It was worth it to me.

[Nathan Hawkes]

Just so I'm clear, did you boil or otherwise add anything to the solution? and did you strain off the debris when pouring between buckets?? thanks.

[Paul Atkins]

No, I just let them soak for ages in rain water and let it evaporate as it would. I strained off the solids with a piece of cloth as i remember in the first place but as it aged I just poured off the top and left the sludge.
When I said I had a 'clear' solution I meant there were no solids left.
I now have lots of nuts in the yard and this spurred me a bit to practice some more. I think I'll cook this batch to get it going faster and kill the bacteria or whatever made it rot. (My wife is going to love this!) I'll let you know.

[Galen Tieszen]

I've heard you soak the hulls in household ammonia, then strain through cheesecloth. I have a grocery sack full of dried hulls that has been up in the rafters for years, just waiting for the day I decide to try making my own "natural" dye. Maybe I'll drag them out and try it now that I've been reminded of it.

[Robby Tacheny]

Well I am glad I am not the only one that considered the option. I have some old cast iron pans that need a cleanup, so I am definitely going to try this at some point. Of course I have several hundred pounds of walnuts to hull too.

PS. If anyone near Gettysburg PA wants some walnuts husk included, let me know!

[Paul Atkins]

Just tried the boiled walnuts and now I have almost 2 qts. of syrup like stain. I started out with about 6 gals. of nuts and boiled them in 8 qts. water for 4 hours topping up to keep most nuts covered. scooped out most of the solids and then strained through terry cloth. After it cooled it is like thin cream and smell ok. I don't know about the vinegar or alum or any mordant for permanence. I'll keep looking and playing

[Lucas Bittick]

I really want to try this! The color looks great. Does the wood take up the color well once its wiped off?

According to trusty Wikipedia:

"Walnut husks are often used to create a rich yellow-brown to dark brown dye that is used for dyeing fabric and for other purposes. When picking walnuts, the husks should be handled wearing rubber gloves, to avoid dyeing one's fingers."

It's worth a read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walnut