Aniline dye with maple veneer plywood

[kdouglaslee]

I added a cast iron router wing to my table saw, and this is causing me to have to redo the fence rails, make a new end table and so on.  I'm therefore taking the opportunity to make a new outfeed table, the last one lasted me 18 years but its day is done.  This time I'm making the top out of cabinet grade plywood, and I'm strongly considering using maple veneer plywood with an aniline dye (probably J E Mosers). I am definitely using an alcohol based aniline dye, not considering anything else.  My thought is to use an unusual color, like purple or green, maybe canary yellow or crimson red, I just want something different that looks good.  So, does anyone have experience with aniline dyes on maple plywood?  The maple is about the same price as higher grade birch (the good domestic stuff), anyone think I would be better off with the birch instead?  If I went with yellow, I'd want it to be a very deep, bright yellow, and I'm thinking that the maple would be better for that, but I don't really know.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[jteneyck]

I would use Baltic birch plywood because the surface layers are thicker than on normal veneer plywood.  You can dye it any color you want.  I use Transtint dyes, which are soluble in both water and alcohol.  It comes in all the primary colors, plus many others.  

John

[kdouglaslee]

I would use Baltic birch plywood because the surface layers are thicker than on normal veneer plywood.  You can dye it any color you want.  I use Transtint dyes, which are soluble in both water and alcohol.  It comes in all the primary colors, plus many others.  

John

Thanks. For what it's worth, the guy at the building supply place where I get my plywood said that the cheapest baltic birch (from China) has a very thin top layer, which is fine for a lot of applications but it's super easy to sand through that top layer.  He has US made baltic birch that has a thick veneer, like his maple and oak plywood, but it's still over $70 per sheet, compared to the $44 for the Chinese stuff.  Worth it, though.

I've always used Transtint, but last year I built in a bed for one of my daughters, and decided to dye some bead board pink.  Couldn't find the color I wanted with Transtint so I ordered the JE Moser's, and that stuff rocks.

[jteneyck]

Thanks. For what it's worth, the guy at the building supply place where I get my plywood said that the cheapest baltic birch (from China) has a very thin top layer, which is fine for a lot of applications but it's super easy to sand through that top layer.  He has US made baltic birch that has a thick veneer, like his maple and oak plywood, but it's still over $70 per sheet, compared to the $44 for the Chinese stuff.  Worth it, though.

I've always used Transtint, but last year I built in a bed for one of my daughters, and decided to dye some bead board pink.  Couldn't find the color I wanted with Transtint so I ordered the JE Moser's, and that stuff rocks.

Never seen Baltic birch from China.  The genuine stuff comes from, not surprisingly, the Baltic countries and you will see the distinctive Cyrillic lettering on the edges of the 5 x 5 sheets.  The surface layers on it are much thicker than on any domestic hardwood plywood I've ever seen.  Price varies depending upon where you buy it.  I've paid over $70 and as little as $50 for 3/4" x 5' x 5'.  

What makes the JE Moser dye's better?  Never tried them so I'm curious.  

John

[Rob Young]

Never seen Baltic birch from China.  The genuine stuff comes from, not surprisingly, the Baltic countries and you will see the distinctive Cyrillic lettering on the edges of the 5 x 5 sheets.  The surface layers on it are much thicker than on any domestic hardwood plywood I've ever seen.  Price varies depending upon where you buy it.  I've paid over $70 and as little as $50 for 3/4" x 5' x 5'.  

What makes the JE Moser dye's better?  Never tried them so I'm curious.  

John

I have this recollection that most if not all of the aniline dyes sold in the woodworking market originate from W.D. Lockwood and are simply repackaged.

W.D. Lockwood web site

[kdouglaslee]

Never seen Baltic birch from China.  The genuine stuff comes from, not surprisingly, the Baltic countries and you will see the distinctive Cyrillic lettering on the edges of the 5 x 5 sheets.  The surface layers on it are much thicker than on any domestic hardwood plywood I've ever seen.  Price varies depending upon where you buy it.  I've paid over $70 and as little as $50 for 3/4" x 5' x 5'.  

What makes the JE Moser dye's better?  Never tried them so I'm curious.  

John

I'm not saying JE Moser's is better than Transtint, but did want everyone to know that it's good stuff.  It's powder rather than liquid, I thought it would be harder to use but turns out it's all the same, the powder dissolves into the alcohol quickly and completely.  They have a huge range of colors, which is what drew me to them.  I've since ordered scarlet and yellow, and I'm very pleased with the look and ease of use.  But I'm not going to knock Transtint, I've been using their stuff for a couple of decades and I swear by it too.