Walnuts on Elm – Credit where credit is due – Check out Pegs and Tails

Brother Jack Plane recently built a Irish Elm Dressing Table (Be sure to read all of the posts about this project).  He finished it with “Van Dyke Crystals” (a product of Walnuts, as I understand it) and oil.  Elm is usually not seen as one of the finer furniture woods in the United States.  But, apparently, in the UK and Ireland, Elm is one of the standard species.  Maybe we can make a push for bringing this tough, reliable wood into a new found popularity as a case wood.

BTW, if you’re not reading Jack’s blog, you’re missing out.  It’s full of information that ranges from the practical to the arcane.  And you’ll have to go a long way to find a more entertaining blog.  Put it on your favorites list.

Using “Exchequer Ink” to ebonize small detail parts

Sometimes ebonizing a small portion of a project can increase its overall impact dramatically.  Consider the black cock-bead, small column capitals, or the feet on an Empire style piece.  Simply adding the element of ebony to other species has much the same effect as triple underlining a critical word in a text.  Ebonizing, uses domestic hardwood elements and allows the craftsman to mimic ebony (so well that many times experts have significant difficulty in determining the product’s authenticity).  Walnut and cherry seem to be the best North American species for this purpose (due to their grain pattern), although it is not uncommon to see species like white oak and ash ebonized on a much larger scale, i.e. tables and chairs.  Even simple cherry Shaker style turned knobs take on an uncommon elegance when they are blackened and the grain shows through.

Ebonized cherry knobs on kitchen cabinet in use for seven years

The beauty of ebonizing is that it is a mordant dye (“bites into the surface”) that penetrates and is permanent.  However, anyone who has done much ebonizing will tell you that it can be a messy job.  Typically the surface to be treated is painted with a tannic acid “tea” and allowed to dry.  The “tea” can be “brewed” from boiling oak bark and/or leaves, oak galls (little growths caused by wasps attacking the tree) or the purchase and mixture of a “bark tanning powder” used for tanning leather.   Then iron is introduced to the surface as a liquid (vinegar and old iron nails is a favorite solution).  The iron (acetate, I think – hey! I’m not a chemist) based liquid reacts with the tannic acid solution and, voila!, black, deep, beautiful, permanent black that allows the beauty of the grain to shine through.

For small detail parts this process can be a bit overwhelming.  So I’ve opted for a simpler solution.  Bring on the Exchequer Ink.  What, exactly, is this “magic potion”?  Well back in the days before computers, or comptomitors, or adding machines, accounts were kept “by hand”.  And in the British Exchequer (Treasury), accounts were kept by a legion of scriveners who kept tally with dip pens (first goose quills followed by the modern steel dip pen) which carried an ink made from tannic acid (extracted from Aleppo Oak galls) and iron sulphate.   This ink is most commonly known as classic iron-gall ink.   Hello!  Same stuff you use for ebonizing, except in a little bottle.  Not great for a bookcase or a tavern table.  But for a cockbead?  Eureka!  When Exchequer goes on it is a dull gray color.  But after a few minutes, it “bites” the surface, oxidizes and turns a brilliant black.  In fact, it can “bite” so aggressively that old documents will be found with holes where the “O”s should be.  (That said, I’ve never found it necessary to neutralize the ink, or the standard ebonizing process, for that matter).  I’ve used this mixture as my standard writing and drawing ink for more than twenty years.  Some folks will add gum arabic or shellac to the mix to create a glossy finish.  I brew my ink without the “gloss” factor and only add gum or shellac to the inks that I will use for writing.  I’m not sure that either additive would be beneficial in ebonizing wood.

Here is a recipe for “British Exchequer Ink” from “Gaskell’s Guide to Writing, Pen-Flourishing, Lettering, Business Letter-Writing, Etc. 1884″

“Bruised galls (crushed Aleppo oak galls, still available from Kremer Pigments) 40 pounds; gum 10 pounds (as I said, this is optional if the fluid will be multi-purposed); green sulphate or iron (known today as Ferrous Sulphate), 9 pounds; soft water, 45 gallons.  Macerate (let soak) for three weeks, with frequent agitation.  Then strain and bottle.  This ink will endure for ages and is one of the best inks ever produced.

My guess is that you don’t want 55 gallons of permanent black ink sitting around the house.  So do the math and make up a small batch.  I think you’ll find it very useful.

A thought in closing.  Craftsmen of by-gone days usually had excellent handwriting.  It was seen as a sign of intellect and good breeding.  Of course it was the way you billed and got paid!  I remember that my Grandfathers “day-books” bore script and drawings that could have rivaled the “Book of Kells” (alright maybe that’s a stretch, but he had damned fine handwriting).  Perhaps our modern craft community could learn a “thing, or two”.

A little more about making Walnut Ink

This is worth sharing.  After boiling down the two dozen husks for four hours, I decanted approximately 375 ml of liquid.  I put it into a 750 ml, cork stopped bottle (and I can speak to the quality of  Bullitt Frontier Bourbon).  Then I added an equal amount of de-natured alcohol, which, effectively, filled the bottle.  Of course, the liquid was quite diluted.  I let it set overnight.  After about 12 hours, I put the liquid back into the stock pot and carefully reduced it (over medium heat) until it passed the test of writing with a dip pen.  I then re-canted the liquid into the bottle.  I was left with about 200 ml of very fine ink/dye.

What’s left after reducing 750 ml (50% denatured alcohol)

The “pen” (or brush) test let’s you know if the ink is concentrated enough for use.

My goal is to fill the bottle.  So I’ll have to convince my Walnut provider to share a little more of his harvest.  You might ask (justifiably) why I would go to this extent.  Well, the answer is simple.  I’ll use this dye on American Elm, then glaze it with Van Dyke Brown artists oil medium.  The results will be stunning.  Few things that are really worth while are simply done.  And remember, one of our goals here is to really understand how our predecessors pursued their craft.  Clearly, it wasn’t easy.

Making you own Walnut Ink/Dye

A very traditional dark brown dye for wood can be easily made by macerating or boiling walnut husks.  The same chemical that makes “Black Walnut” black is present in abundance in husks.  The beauty of this product is that it can be used to “balance” the color of walnut pieces that may differ significantly.  Ultimately the dye will be alcohol based.  It will cause little, if any, grain raise and it can be used as an absolutely beautiful drawing ink (although it should be used in dip pens only).

My friend Bilko has several prodigious walnut trees in his backyard and I asked if he might collect a couple of dozen of the fruits for my little venture, when they began to fall.  Today Bilko pulled up in the driveway and literally handed me my nuts in a plastic bag.  Good friends are hard to find.

So, I could have simply put the nuts (in their husks) into a covered container of water, stuck them in the basement and allowed them to macerate over the next few weeks.  But a more straightforward method is to boil them on the stove.  But FAIR WARNING, don’t do this right before you have company, as the boiling of walnut husks produces a somewhat earthy, although not offensive, aroma that some people might wrinkle their noses at.

I chose two dozen fruits of good potential and tied them up in a bag made of cheese cloth.  I put them into a stock pot (that my wife has vowed will never again be used for chili, onion soup, etc.) and covered them with water.  The cheese cloth bag will allow me to get ride of the spent product with little mess.

I’ll boil this for about four hours, give or take (as my Irish ancestors were fond of saying).  I’ll let it cool a bit, so I can handle the “nut bag”, then I’ll dispose of the husks in “one fell swoop”.  I’ll return the liquid to the fire and continue to reduce it till I arrive at a fairly thick “tea”.  (Experimentation is the key here.  Be not fearful.  Soldier On.)

After I’ve arrived at a viscosity I’m happy with (take a brush full and see how dark it is on the wood species of your choice), I’ll remove the pot from the fire.  I’ll let the pot cool till it can be comfortably handled.   Then,  I’ll begin to add denatured alcohol. (KEEP THE ALCOHOL AWAY FROM THE FIRE!!!!!!)  My ultimate goal is to add enough alcohol to absorb all of the remaining water.  There are several reasons for this.  First is that you’ve just created a medium that will support life as you do NOT know it.  Strange hairy critters will grow on this stuff faster than on a agar medium in a petri dish.  Second, we want to create a dye that will not (or minimally) raise grain, ergo alcohol.

That’s it!  Now it’s all about you taking the time to figure out how you use this stuff.  But remember, the material needed for this little experiment is “falling off the trees”.  Don’t let it go to waste.  And, remember, this is a wonderful medium for artists.  Christmas is coming and what better gift could you give to those artistic friends of yours than handmade walnut ink.  Just for fun, try dissolving a little flake shellac in the mixture.  It will give a lovely gloss to the product when used as an ink.  But, go slowly and examine the results before you start adding a “pound per gallon”.  In the near future, we’ll see how we can make and use Iron/Gall ink (the type used by the English Exchequer and the US government prior to the common use of typewriters) for ebonizing small detail pieces without all of the mess normally associated with the ebonizing process.

Notes in Walnut drawing ink

The beauty of the Emmert’s Vise

As they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words”.  Here’s the reason folks love the Emmert’s Patternmaker’s Vise:

Straight hold on a cabriole leg

Rotating the vise up to 360 degrees

“Tilting” the vise up to 90 degrees

Holding a taper (an auxiliary jaw allows vertical holding of even greater tapers)

Holding above the jaws with dogs

Reversing the dogs makes holding rounds and irregular shapes a simple task

This is why I went to all the trouble.  For anyone doing work that requires the ability to hold the workpiece in many different positions to facilitate hand work, the Emmert’s vise is a thing of rare beauty.

Just a few more details and the bench will be ready for service; tail vise, storage shelf, tool tray and rack.  This thing might weigh 450 before it’s all said and done….

Extraneous decoration or Cautionary Tale?

In times past, carpenters, joiners and masons alike, dated and signed their work.  Farmers who built their own buildings often left a great deal of information on posts and beam ends.  And many times, some appropriate admonition would be carved into any number of finished products.  So I thought it only appropriate to not only date the new workbench under construction, but to also include a reminder to myself to not waste time.  It is one of the most valuable things we have.

The base is substantial, but is made in such a way that the entire bench can be dissembled for transport.  The routed areas are required for the mounting of the Emmerts vise.  Had I realized how heavy the Emmert vise is and the amount of stock that must be required, I may have designed a base with three trestles.  I’m anticipating some deflection problems with the 2 15/16″ top sometime in the next 100 years.  I’m planning to hang a drawer under the bench to hold bench dogs, temporary jaws etc.  And there is the possibility of installing a small antique vise on the right end to act as a tail vise.  More weight…but in a workbench, heavy is a good thing.

Underside of bench inletted to receive Emmert’s Vise

Another two to three days should put the bench into operation.  Then I can get on to more profitable exercises.

Oh!  For those of you who are too young to have had classical Latin “beaten into you”,

“Tempus Fugit – Memento Mori” means time is fleeting – remember you will die.  In other words, get past the “white paper” syndrome.

Stay tuned for when the vise goes into action…and I’ll close with one other “classical” bit of wisdom…

“Enough is abundance to the wise” – Euripides