Anybody save thier osage shavings for making stain?

[toomanyknots]

I've made some before, a while ago (years). I didn't cut it with anything then, just boiled it down to sticky goop and rubbed it on a 78" red oak pyramid bow (no idea why the bow was that long, haha  ). I decided to make some more, and maybe this time cut it with turpentine. It turns out pretty nice looking in the end, kinda like dark red-ish, kinda mohagany. Here is some pictures, this is my third time extracting the osage, (because now I know multiple small extractions are better than one big extraction, thank you breaking bad, lol) I guess their called tannins?



This is what I have so far, I'm gonna boil this all down after my third extraction:





I was thinking I might try it on leather.

[BowEd]

What about using sawdust?

[Joec123able]

What about using sawdust?

Just the dust from sanding Osage stains my pants yellow I have pants with yellow spots on them lol

[Hamish]

I had an idea of collecting dust/shavings and chips, to sell to peple who like to dye their own wool/textiles. I still have some bags of it but just haven't got around to trying it. I think its more trouble than its worth in terms of time though.

[blackhawk]

You know your a bowaholic when.......    ...my wife would shoot me on the spot if she saw me boiling osage chips with her pots on her range...n if she didn't shoot me she'd send me to a mental institution  .... never tried it n don't need to cus most my bows are already yellow orange,n will turn dark naturally  

[wood_bandit99]

How do you make it? I make enough bows I might as well get some free stain for my white bows! 

[RyanR]

You know your a bowaholic when.......    ...my wife would shoot me on the spot if she saw me boiling osage chips with her pots on her range...n if she didn't shoot me she'd send me to a mental institution  .... never tried it n don't need to cus most my bows are already yellow orange,n will turn dark naturally  

Blackhawk your wife needs to be more understanding. LOL  One time I boiled a deer skull in the kitchen in one of my wifes pans. She never said anything but looking back  I am sure she was not impressed but it just adds to the list of dumb things I have done.  It stunk pretty bad.

[NeolithicMan]

Ive noticed the water changes color when steaming a rough rasped piece of osage. wondered if it was of any use, now I know thanks toomanyknots

[JackCrafty]

I did a little tutorial on the PA Facebook page about using a coffee maker to extract the dye from osage sawdust:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151297468646476.474608.125816541475&type=3

[JackCrafty]

The only problem with the dye, like other natural dyes, is that the color fades when exposed to sunlight.

[toomanyknots]

The only problem with the dye, like other natural dyes, is that the color fades when exposed to sunlight.

I didn't know that. Pretty cool tutorial! I might try that! I make the stuff a lot more concentrated though. Or at least last time I did. I make it to where it is kinda thick and sticky, and it is very dark when I am done boiling it down. I rubbed it in kinda like you rub oil in a bow, and the results where a darker red kinda stain. I make walnut hull stain the same way. Here it is finally boiling down, this pan was full to the top and then some as I extracted too much to fit in the pan, so I boiled the first bit down and added the rest:

[JackCrafty]

I'm too impatient to boil it down.  I should try that, though.  I wonder if it's sticky enough to make glue...