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Originally posted by tin can:
didn't the Pennsylvania Rifle smiths use some sort of nitric acid to do their maple stocks?

I remember reading (where/when/???) that it discolored their hands/fingers when they used it.

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Acid is used to darken maple and other base woods, while a base such as lye
is used to darken acidic woods such as cherry. Applying heat activates the acid,
The wood should not be scorched! (However, there is a wood scorching method of
Japanese origin which uses scorching to add an artificial figure to wood). Once
the wood is darkened, it must be rubbed down until the figure is revealed( this
removes some of the chemically darkened surface over the hardest grain while leaving
it in the softer more absorbent areas). Using acid is not easy and is not without
risk both to the user and to the end result, as it reacts differently on different
pieces of wood and even on different aresa of the same piece of wood; so you don't
know what your going to end up with. If you use acid, use nitric acid and stay
away from chromic acid. Chromic acid will turn green over time, maybe not for along
time, but eventually it will.
Maple does not stain well using pigmented stains. These are your over the counter
oil base stains you can buy at any hardware store. These stains leave maple blotchy
and ugly.
High quality dyes work very well on maple(analine), but have a tendency to fade
over time or when exposed to direct sunlight. I have used acid, but prefer the
dyes. I usually dye a shade or two darker than I "think" I want the piece
to be, and once the piece is rubbed out and finished, it is usually right where
I want it. Dyes give you much better control of color etc.

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I'd be a little concerned with the acid...this stuff may come back to raise hell with the metal???

Doug Humbarger
NRA Life member
Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club 72'73.
Yankee Station

Try to look unimportant. Your enemy might be low on ammo.

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why wouldn't you just use stain to achieve the desired color tones???

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Maple does not stain well using pigmented stains. These are your over the counter
oil base stains you can buy at any hardware store. These stains leave maple blotchy
and ugly.