Tuning pegs for musical instruments are commonly made from ebony or boxwood, but in medieval times and renaissance they would also be made from roasted maple. Maple is a relatively soft wood, so the trick is to roast it, which makes it very light and porous, and then let it soak in a mixture of linseed oil and turpentine overnight. It soaks the oil in like a sponge, going from swimming on the surface to sinking to the ground when it’s saturated. The oil hardens and reinforces the wood, kind of like epoxy stabilised wood.
How long does it have to dry after that?
Honestly, I don’t know. I didn’t expect to see literal air bubbles rising from the wood in the oil bath. That’s a lot of oil, so I expect several months for it to fully harden. Maybe I can speed up the process with an UV lamp.
You roasted that maple? What did you call it?
I’ve just bought it roasted. It was originally intended for billiard cues.
Edit: sorry, I missed the joke. 😅
And here I thought Jimi Hendrix invented roasted maple instruments.
but srs I didn’t know about the soaking in oil afterwards, that’s very interesting!
those are gorgeous
I’m going to have to try this! Very curious about just how hard it turns out to be in the end.
How do they taste?
Like linseed oil and caramel.
