This may help. Have a look at the posting in the frequently asked question section "Traditional oil stock finish". Red Oil is the traditional way of using Alkanet on gun stocks, it is worth making but if you make it now it will be ready to use in about eight months tine because the root pieces is used not powder well it was used to colour English gun stocks starting about two hundred years ago when time was not as expensive as it is today though still very much used today. As for bleaching the wood first my mind just screams why wood bleaches damages the Lignin?
