How To Dye Bamboo?...ANSWER ON PAGE 2!!!

[4est trekker]

SEE PAGE 2 FOR THE ANSWER I FOUND TO MY OWN QUESTION        

Does anybody know a good technique for replicating James Parker's dye jobs (Huntworthy Bows)?  I've pasted the link to the page containing the pic I'm interested in.  Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page to the bottom left picture.  I'm most interested in recreating the black/maroon colored dye job.  Thanks for the help.

  http://huntworthyproductions.com/bowkits.html

[Pat B]

Forest, for $20 James will send you a dyed bamboo backing strip...or you could contact James and ask him. Tell him Ugly sent you. d;^)

[robtattoo]

I don't know if this may help you. It's the first bow I've ever built so I'm by no means an expert n the subject!
I sanded all the 'shine' off the bamboo backing & firstly dyed it all over with Medium Brown, Fiebings leather dye (Fiebings comes in about a million colors, so you could certainly get a maroon) then I overdyed the tips & riser section with Black fiebings. I just dampened a cloth with the dye & 'swiped' it to getthe fade effect.
Once dry, I sanded the edges to create a nice light border. Be careful not to get dye on the edge of the backing if you can avoid it. It soaks trough too far & you ca't sand it out  :(

[robtattoo]

Here's a link to the thread with all the pics (If you're interested!)

http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=088775

[4est trekker]

Thank, all.  Pat, I've contacted James but haven't gotten a reply.  Is e-mail the best way?  By the way, he makes a ridiculously nice bow, doesn't he?

[rainman]

Go into the Topic Archives build alongs.  Look up Static bamboo build along by Horseapple.

[greyhawk39]

You can do like we did on my son bow.We used a air brush,check it out on the father son hail merry build along on this page.

[John Scifres]

You need to just play with it.  Get some leather or aniline dyes and just go at it.  You can get the finish you want.  It really isn't even that hard.  Your bow is your pallette.  Create.

[gordonf]

I use leather dye and feather colors together by rubbing the colors out at the transitions with a rag. It's not that difficult.

[Sam Harper]

John, I wish it were as easy as you say.  I must be an idiot.  I have a whole butt ton of scrap bamboo that I have experimented with but have not been able to do the fiddle back design I've seen some people do or anything else eye-catching.  I've used both leather dyes and aniline dye.  I wish somebody would post a youtube video showing different techniques.

[Pat B]

Forest, give him a call. His home phone number is on his site.

[4est trekker]

Thanks, Pat.  Will do!

[rainman]

If you can make MOJAM there are several guys that can show you how.  Including John Sturdevant, J.D. Jones, and Tim Ott.  Basically stain the bow, then wrap a Tee shirt around finger dip in stain and apply in fiddleback pattern.

[Bob Barnes]

James has to use a sprayer on his bows as there are lots of black 'spots' on the bow...it does look great.

[4est trekker]

Just got off the phone with James....what a guy!  Super nice, incredibly talented bowyer, and a joy to talk to.  He's going to spray the bamboo for me.  He said, "Shoot...dun't take but five minutes!" I said, "Sold!"

Thanks for the help, all.

[Pat B]

James is a great person and friend, very nice and very talented but butt ugly! d;^)

[Sam Harper]

After reading about James spraying the bow, I went in the garage and tried it.  I poured some of my aniline dye in a spray bottle and sprayed it on a scrap piece of bamboo.  I just couldn't get it to look anything like James' bows look.  I don't know what my problem is.  I wish somebody would post a youtube video showing how they do the different effects--fading from one colour to another, fiddle back design, tiger stripes, and spots.  If I can ever figure out how to do it, I'm going to post a video.

[Bob Barnes]

He probably uses an air brush...and if he gets $5 to spray one (cheap) then he might not want everyone to know how he does it...     It's easy to understand since it's the way he makes his living.

[4est trekker]

He charges $25, and he did talk a little about the way he does the tiger stripes.  Way cool!

[Bob Barnes]

Pat-
is there any problem with tru oil causing a tint or color change?  I just ordered a big bottle of it to see how it works on skins...I'm hoping it will fill better than poly and make the back smoother.

thanks,

Bob