At 06:00 PM 4/16/2012, Walter Henderson wrote:
>
>
>I was wondering if anyone of the members of the list, have a surefire method
>of making fresh Beech wood . . . appear 250-300 years old?

I haven't tried this on beech but it does a respectable job of 
"aging" ash and hickory hammer and axe handles.

Chop or shred some steel wool into a quart jar, no more than a 1/2 
pad would be plenty.  Fill the jar with vinegar (good vinegar not the 
watered down 2 gallon for a $1 stuff).   Cover with either an 
expendable piece of fabric or some plastic wrap very loosely held in 
place with a rubber band.  Do NOT put the lid on, this mix makes gas 
and I know of at least 2 instances where after sitting for a couple 
of days the jar cut loose and went all over the place.   Matter of 
face poke a small hole in the plastic just as an extra 
precaution.   Let set for a couple or 4 days, gently shaking the 
mix.  Some folks get fancy and strain the nasty bits out but I never 
much bothered with that.  Just paint it on the wood and see what it 
does.  You might have to do a couple or 3 coats to get to the right 
place with it.  But I would experiment on a piece of scrap first.

If that don't work, Varathene sells trial sizes (at least around 
here) of their stains (like .35 a pack).  I would experiment with 
mixing those to the right "patina".  Beech is a devil of a wood to 
get to take stain, at least new beech.

Tony (hoping this heat wave lasts till Fort Fred..!!)

                         Olde River Hard Goods
                     http://www.oldetoolshop.com
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