35 Ammonia Fuming: Introduction:
Description
This article is from the Woodworking FAQ Collection 1, by multiple authors.
35 Ammonia Fuming: Introduction:
G. Stickley published the following legend about the origin of ammonia
fuming:
"Some oak boards stored in a stable in England were found after a time to
have taken on a beautiful mellow brown tone and on investigation this
change in color was discovered to be due to the ammonia fumes that
naturally are present in stables."
[Gustav Stickley, in "Craftsman Homes" (1909)]
According to Gustav Stickley, this (color formation) phenomenon first
became understood after work was done in his Craftsman Workshops which
showed that the dark color was "due to the chemical affinity existing
between ammonia and tannic acid of which there is a large percentage
present in white oak." Consequently, other tannin-containing woods such as
cherry and chestnut could also be fumed, but the "fuming" process is
commonly done only with oak.
For pieces in the Arts and Crafts style, the use of white oak and ammonia
fuming gives an authentic look, although certainly stains were employed by
Stickley and others during the A&C period. It should be noted that the
fuming treatment does not "finish" the wood, but merely changes the color
to a deep brown tone. Application of a clear penetrating (and/or surface)
finish is required as the final step, to give protection as well as
significant color depth .
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