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Peter Jaquith

I have been pleased with the results obtained through the use of J. E. Moser's Lt Golden Brown Walnut aniline dye (available from Bartley's). I have used this product successfully on hard maple, curly maple, popular, ash, and soft pine. I started out mixing (1) ounce of dye powder to 38 ounces of very hot water (Bartley's recommendation) and liked the color/tone. I am now using three mixes of this product as noted below:

>>> (1) ounce of dye to 38 ounces of water - hard maple, curly maple, and popular
>>> (.75) ounce of dye to 38 ounces of water - ash
>>> (.50) ounce of dye to 38 ounces of water - soft pine; end grain of hard maple, curly maple, popular, and ash

I am currently building a set of Windsor Chairs with maple turnings/spindles, ash bent back bows, and soft pine seats. With the above mixes, I was able to get a uniform light warm brown color on all pieces. With mixed woods such as the reference Windsor Chairs, I dye all pieces before assembly. After dyeing, I sand the pieces lightly with a well worn foam sanding pad. On dyed pieces, I over coat the finished piece with (5) coats of Bartley's gel wiping varnish, rub it down with Liberon ultra fine steel wool and Howard's Feed-N-Wax, and final coat the tops with Liberon's Fine Paste Wax. I currently plan to do a series of curly maple test pieces to help in selecting the appropriate mix/color for the top of Bartley's William & Mary Dining Table planned for my office/library.

I would be interested in hearing of other forum participants finishing techniques/experiences. Like the rigging on period sailing ship models, this is a subject that isn't discussed a lot, but it certainly makes the piece.

Regards,
Pete Jaquith
_________________
Shipbuilder
Hancock, NH & San Diego, CA

Ed Burton · Joined: 02 Feb 2008 Posts: 6

I also like the Golden Brown Walnut dye a good deal, but I prefer it on the lighter side. These days I use half an ounce per quart of water, which gives it a nice gold quality and looks terrific on curly maple. I would also like to give a special mention to J.E. Moser's Early American Cherry dye. I use that as my primary dye on most of my pieces, and it gives a beautiful rich tone. I even occasionally use it together with trim dyed in Golden Brown Walnut -- my hanging corner cupboard looks absolutely striking with the two-tone color.

Peter Jaquith

Ed,

Where do you purchase your Moser's Early American Cherry dye? What do you recommend for a mixing ratio on cherry?, on curly maple?

Regards,
Pete Jaquith
_________________
Shipbuilder
Hancock, NH & San Diego, CA

Ed Burton · Joined: 02 Feb 2008 Posts: 6

> Where do you purchase your Moser's Early American Cherry dye?

I get my dye from Woodworker's Supply, and they have a nice internet site (Woodworker.com) that allows for mail-orders. I mix the Early American Cherry at a ratio of 1 ounce per quart of water, and the results look beautiful. It works well on curly maple, but that ratio gives more of a deep copper/maroon tone rather than the classic cherry color. It looks nice, but you might want to add less water if you want it to match genuine cherry furniture.

I've also started to wonder about the tendency of wood to naturally age. I have a cannonball bed from 1850 that has no coloration, but the wood has naturally developed that maple honey color on its own. Cherry will naturally become deep brown within a few decades. These may be the words of a furniture hypochondriac, but I hope that these dyes will not make my furniture near-black in thirty years!

I have also used Moser's Bright Green for the bottom of my Six-Board Chest, and a white dye for the back of my Corner Cupboard (to keep the interior bright and airy) and both work well!

Ed

Peter Jaquith · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:44 am Post subject: Moser's Aniline Dye

Ed,

Thanks, I will try Moser's Early American Cherry dye on a future project. Good luck with all your furniture projects.

Regards,
Pete Jaquith
_________________
Shipbuilder
Hancock, NH & San Diego, CA