Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
how to age walnut
ben d.
Most of my turning is making duck calls and I have a question for the finishers.
I want to turn an new old call and would like for the finish to look old as back in the 20's or 30's. No idea of the finish used back then but probably varnish or linseed oil.
Maybe not possible but would like to try because the call just wouldn't look right with a bright new finish even if it is an oil finish I do not think.
Any suggestions appreciated.
Got to warm up first though.
Ben d.
Re: how to age walnut
Pete in Holland MI
When I finish my walnut bowls, I rub boiled linseed oil into the surface. Tomorrow, a coat of shellac based sanding sealer, later that day, a coat of polyurethane. Note that the first coat of poly will take a few days to finally cure. After then, multiple coats can be applied with normal curing time.
The oil is what really deepens the color. Think you need to find something in that field that'll work for ya.
Re: how to age walnut
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
It is not just the finish that makes a call look old, it is the walnut. Walnut bleaches, loosing its reds to be replaced by yellows and in prolonged sun it will bleach light brown.
Varnish on the other hand darkens with age, and linseed oil even more so. It is trivial to tell if the finish is oil or varnish. Hope oil. there is no chance of matching a 1940 varnish.
If oil:
Turn a bunch in the winter and oil them till they will not take up any more. Next summer put them behind a southern sunny exposure window for a month.
ps
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
step 3. After aging in the sun for a month, put 3 or 4 around your neck, so they bang into one another, every time you mow the lawn or hoe the garden. some days it should be raining when completing this step. By duck season 2021 they will look old.
Re: ps
Buck Nall
Bill I had to change clothes after digesting your instructing!!!
BUT. we all need much, much more of this/you in this
time of darkness, that DON'T REALLY EXIST!!
Buck Nall PWT
Re: how to age walnut
Ellis Walentine
This may be too much work for a duck call, but, an old friend of mine who refinishes priceless walnut Period pieces could create an authentic-looking, 200-year-old walnut look using dye stains. He started with a bright yellow stain to overwrite the normal purplish/grayish brown color of fresh walnut. Then, depending on the colorways of the piece he was working on, he applied custom stain mixtures and dilutions to bring the overall hue, color and value down to an exact match.
For something like a duck call that is likely to get wet, I'd use a good spar varnish or even a catalyzed urethane .
Ellis Walentine, Host