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I don't think I'll try this....but interesting

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z0SsAyHKzc[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z0SsAyHKzc

I tried that, did not work for me.
Turned the wood a dark yucky color.

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I did some bending with house hold ammonia. Used a form and heat. Turned the wood a different color but I was able to sand the discolor out. Don't really see any reason to use ammonia rather than SuperSoft II.

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guitarsbygiltzow.com

I would hate to have that guys insurance agent see this video. . .

Nevertheless, it was interesting. He said that the discoloration sanded out which surprised me since the premise of the experiment was that the ammonia got deep enough into the wood to alter it's structure all the way through. Although, the bloodwood sample he showed which had been sanded afterward didn't look like bloodwood anymore to me. I was hoping that ammonia fuming (not under pressure) could penetrate deep enough to alter the color of back and side sets all the way through given enough time (and the thin dimensions). Apparently, this is not the case. Anyone know how deep one could expect regular fuming to penetrate?

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Are the back and side set oak, Bryan? If tannin is present in the wood, you should get at least 1mm+ deep after 3-4 hours of fuming.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I thought it reminded me of that Bendable Wood company a couple years ago. Maybe that's how they do it. I'd guess pulling a vacuum before applying the ammonia would help the discoloration problem....just a guess.
I think I'll stick with my bending pipe

I wasn't planning specifically to use oak but my plane would have applied to any of the high tannin woods. As an experiment, I put a scrap of osage orange in a container with household ammonia. I know household strength is too weak but I wanted to get an idea of the color. I really really liked the nearly black color that I got but still having the chatoyance of osage and the variegation in tones too. It looked much nicer than I thought I could get with staining or dying. I also thought it would be a good solution for fret boards and bridges. I was hoping I could fume (with stronger ammonia and more time) a back and side set in the rough and still have enough penetration to thickness and work the material. I'm not too keen on the notion of fuming a guitar once it is made because then I have to account for the effect it will have on the other woods.

Have you had success fuming to 1 mm deep? If so, that would be great news. That would allow me to fume a rim and thicknessed back before assembly and have nearly complete penetration (1 mm from each side would be close to side thickness). This would certainly be deep enough to allow for sanding and finishing. I suppose Osage, being so dense, may not get nearly the penetration of oak though. I have been reluctant to bother procuring stronger ammonia if it was not going to penetrate. . .

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Neat trick! Thanks for posting. not exactly DIY ready for apartment dwellers, but interesting nonetheless.

Obviously (to the old timers) you can get pretty nearly the same exact result by boiling or steaming, and yes, it does work for guitar woods. Main disadvantage to steam is a short open time. With either ammonia or boiling, I'd imagine there will be problems with cupping. Steaming has some limited use still IMO. Works for troublesome wood binding. Steam, clamp to form, and then bend them on a hot pipe.

RE darkening: Yeah ammonia will change the color, sometimes quite severely! I use it intentionally in preference to stain. If you can get the 'janitor' strength ammonia, it works pretty well. Ace hardware has it. For small things like guitar necks (etc), I find it easier to wipe the wood with ammonia directly rather than to set up a tent and fumes.

Different woods react differently, but I really like the dark color it imparts to mahogany. While it's something that be used with caution, it isn't anywhere near as poisonous as potassium dichromate.