I used "household" ammonia, the kind without soap. I cut, sanded, and drilled the wood pieces so they were ready for assembly before I hung them in the bucket. I hung them so they did not touch. I robably could have assembled the carriage then fumed it but the hardware is all iron and I was afrait the moisture would rust it. Then I poured a couple of inches of the ammonia in the bucket and covered it with plastic wrap.
It has been a couple of years since I did this so the following is what I remember, which may not have any relationship to reality
for how long did you have it in ammonium fumes to reach that color ??
Seems like I left the wood in for a couple of days. The polyurathane finish did also darken it some, I used oil based poly as it is welowish and makes the brown "warmer".
how deep into the wood is it stained ?? do you have any idea of that ??
I don't know, sorry. I remember having to sand it lighty to remove the fuzz caused by the moisture in the bucket and I don't remember it lightening much.
how long time does it take until the ammonium smell disappears from the wood ??
After the wood came out of the bucket i let it air dry overnight, the smell was gone by then. Ammonia dissipates very quickly in the air.
what size is it on the carriage ??
The tube under the trunnion straps in .5 inch, and the wheels are 1 inch in diameter.
Sorry there are not too many hard facts here. If I do this again, and I might, the color is beautiful and much better than stain. I would put the ammonia in a waterbath so I could heat it and pipe it to a container with the wood, and put salt on the bottom to absorb the moisture in the ammonia to keep the wood dry. I would probably do this outside
Thanx
MikeR C
