My organic chemistry project : making an iron gall ink.

[Pharmasweaves]

So today was the first day working in the lab for my semester's project, and I decided I would try my hand at making an iron gall ink.

I'm using proportions from Sir Issac Newton's notes, and a procedure from The Booke of Sekrets.

Today was basically just crushing nuts (I'm using chestnuts that were growing in my back yard) and rusting the iron wire.

A few things I learned:
vinegar stinks, especially when the fume hood blowers are broken.
when using alchemy recipes from before chemistry and the ISO, remember that gr is not the same as g.

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My procedure today went as follows:

Weigh 10 grams iron wire.
Place iron wire into 240 mL 4% acetic acid (white vinegar).
Place beaker on wire to submerge.

Using a mortar and pestle, crack chestnuts (carefully, as they are super spiny) and crush 58 grams of nuts. Add shells as needed to reach desired weight.
Try to stir chestnut remnants into 120 mL DI water.
Suddenly realize your weights were supposed to be in grains, not grams. (One grain is ~0.065 g)
Laugh at yourself.
Pick through chestnut remnants for nut meat, weigh ~8.3 grams chestnut meat.
Stir into 120 mL DI water.
Place beaker on top to submerge.
Leave until next week to soak.

Realize you forgot the gum arabic.
Do proper math to determine 8.3 g gum arabic is needed.
Try to stir gum arabic into the mess of iron wire, laughing because you only needed ~2 grams of iron wire.
Heat solution slightly while stirring to dissolve gum arabic.
Replace beaker to weigh iron wires down.
Leave until next week to rust.

Mark flow hood glass so that general chem students don't mess everything up.
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My plan for next week is to mix another batch of chestnut solution, boil both of those for an hour to extract the tannins, then mix half of the rust solution into each and test color, saturation, feathering, ghosting/bleeding and water resistance a la SBRE Brown's Inkcyclopedias. For the papers, I'll be using Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Staples Copy Paper to compare. One set of writing samples will then be left in the windows to be exposed to sunlight, and a second set will be enclosed in a large mailing envelope in darkness.
The following week, I'll use the same inks to make a second writing and saturation test to see if the color has changed, and I'll be doing another water drip test to see if water resistance improves or is maintained with a week's worth of dry time.

I took a few pictures, if there's interest I can try to post those, and will try to update each week as I go, as well as maybe post a copy of my poster.

[VertOlive]

Would love to see pictures; curious about the color you'll come up with.

I made some batches of iron gall ink using Newton's recipes here:

http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread....t=mess+kitchen

[Silverbreeze]

So today was the first day working in the lab for my semester's project, and I decided I would try my hand at making an iron gall ink.

I'm using proportions from Sir Issac Newton's notes, and a procedure from The Booke of Sekrets.

Today was basically just crushing nuts (I'm using chestnuts that were growing in my back yard) and rusting the iron wire.

A few things I learned:
vinegar stinks, especially when the fume hood blowers are broken.
when using alchemy recipes from before chemistry and the ISO, remember that gr is not the same as g.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My procedure today went as follows:

Weigh 10 grams iron wire.
Place iron wire into 240 mL 4% acetic acid (white vinegar).
Place beaker on wire to submerge.

Using a mortar and pestle, crack chestnuts (carefully, as they are super spiny) and crush 58 grams of nuts. Add shells as needed to reach desired weight.
Try to stir chestnut remnants into 120 mL DI water.
Suddenly realize your weights were supposed to be in grains, not grams. (One grain is ~0.065 g)
Laugh at yourself.
Pick through chestnut remnants for nut meat, weigh ~8.3 grams chestnut meat.
Stir into 120 mL DI water.
Place beaker on top to submerge.
Leave until next week to soak.

Realize you forgot the gum arabic.
Do proper math to determine 8.3 g gum arabic is needed.
Try to stir gum arabic into the mess of iron wire, laughing because you only needed ~2 grams of iron wire.
Heat solution slightly while stirring to dissolve gum arabic.
Replace beaker to weigh iron wires down.
Leave until next week to rust.

Mark flow hood glass so that general chem students don't mess everything up.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My plan for next week is to mix another batch of chestnut solution, boil both of those for an hour to extract the tannins, then mix half of the rust solution into each and test color, saturation, feathering, ghosting/bleeding and water resistance a la SBRE Brown's Inkcyclopedias. For the papers, I'll be using Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Staples Copy Paper to compare. One set of writing samples will then be left in the windows to be exposed to sunlight, and a second set will be enclosed in a large mailing envelope in darkness.
The following week, I'll use the same inks to make a second writing and saturation test to see if the color has changed, and I'll be doing another water drip test to see if water resistance improves or is maintained with a week's worth of dry time.

I took a few pictures, if there's interest I can try to post those, and will try to update each week as I go, as well as maybe post a copy of my poster.

I may be crazy but I am pretty sure a grain of barley weighs more during good years vs lean ones. I guess the IOS picked64.79891 milligrams (mg) as an average or something

[Pharmasweaves]

Would love to see pictures; curious about the color you'll come up with.

I made some batches of iron gall ink using Newton's recipes here:

http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread....t=mess+kitchen

I'm about to head out for class, but I'll try to get the pictures going when I have time.

I'm glad I checked your posts out, I'll definitely need to take pictures as I go to watch for that color darkening as it dries.

[jbb]

Do chestnuts have as much tannin as oak galls do?

[VertOlive]

I think AndyT in UK posted some pics of a gorgeous brown ink he'd made with chestnuts, if memory serves.

[Paddler]

Do chestnuts have as much tannin as oak galls do?

I don't know about the husks, but if chestnuts had as much tannin as oak galls, humans would find them inedible. Like acorns; can't eat those unless you boil the be-jabers out of them.

[Pharmasweaves]

Do chestnuts have as much tannin as oak galls do?

The Chestnuts, not so much. Most of the tannin in chestnuts (and other trees) is in the nut skins, bark, and young wood, (the darker red/brown parts) hence why the oak galls have so much. It's produced by the plant as an insect repellent against burrowing insects, so if a wasp lays its larva in a leaf bud, the tree basically grows inside-out to try to form a bark layer around the invader.

[jbb]

Do chestnuts have as much tannin as oak galls do?

The Chestnuts, not so much. Most of the tannin in chestnuts (and other trees) is in the nut skins, bark, and young wood, (the darker red/brown parts) hence why the oak galls have so much. It's produced by the plant as an insect repellent against burrowing insects, so if a wasp lays its larva in a leaf bud, the tree basically grows inside-out to try to form a bark layer around the invader.

I was curious about the use of chestnuts as I'm familiar with oak galls. Around here oak galls grown on trees as the saying goes.

[Pharmasweaves]

Sorry everybody for not following through on keeping yall up to date. The lab portion is done, along with a ton of photos. Unfortunately one of my samples kersploded (well the beaker did).

Anyway, it's the end of the semester and now I'm working on getting the presentation together. I shall try to update and follow through when all is said and done... sorry

[Pharmasweaves]

Also, my laptop decided to die, luckily I had just bought myself a new laptop as celebration for receiving a scholarship, and my files were already synced up to Dropbox, so not too much was lost.

[Lady Onogaro]

Sorry everybody for not following through on keeping yall up to date. The lab portion is done, along with a ton of photos. Unfortunately one of my samples kersploded (well the beaker did).

Anyway, it's the end of the semester and now I'm working on getting the presentation together. I shall try to update and follow through when all is said and done... sorry

I am looking forward to seeing how the ink turns out!

[Pharmasweaves]

20160425_151226.jpg a result.

[Marsilius]

oooooh! I have about three large garbage bags full of oak galls bu couldn't find ferrous sulfate. I do have coat hangers . . . Nice job!

[jbb]

oooooh! I have about three large garbage bags full of oak galls bu couldn't find ferrous sulfate. I do have coat hangers . . . Nice job!

Gardening supply stores sell ferrous sulfate for plants.

[Pharmasweaves]

its also sold at any drug store as a supplement.

or you can boil steel wool in vinegar and put 1 mL 3% hydrogen peroxide.

[Pharmasweaves]

Sorry everyone, I was reminded that I never actually posted my finished poster by a penpal, so here it is!
Again, sorry sorry, college life is crazy life.

[FredRydr]

Thank you, Samuel!

Fred

[Lady Onogaro]

Thanks so much for showing us this, Samuel!

[VertOlive]

Really love the poster presentation !