Ebony Question

[JoeP]

I turned a Rhodium Executive in Ebony and sanded it to 12,000 MM. After finishing with CA/BLO it still has some sanding swirls. I sanded lengthwise (not enough?) during the MM. The thing is the swirls weren't noticeable until after the finish is applied. Does anyone have tips on how to avoid this when working with Ebony?
Thanks

 

[Rifleman1776]

That's tough. Probably no easy answer. But the lengthwise sanding is very important. Examining the blank as you sand can help. Some say fluorescent lights work best to reveal this dreaded condition. I think the black wood contributes to showing the rings moreso than a lighter one would. As nice a pen as that is, you might consider disassembling and resanding.

 

[VisExp]

What grit paper did you start sanding with? I'm assuming you started with regular sandpaper before moving to MM. I sand lengthwise with every grit except maybe the last couple of MM. In order to check for the swirls on the dark ebony maybe you could try wetting the wood with mineral spirits.

BTW. That's a nice looking pen.

 

[rherrell]

Are you sure the marks aren't in the CA? Also you said you sanded to 12,000 but where did you start? If you start with 400 and not any lower you should be fine. The lower grits leave deep scratches that are impossible to remove with MM.

 

[JoeP]

I started the sanding with 120 up to 400, then the MM. The swirls are definitely under the CA. I think the next one I'll start at 400 and spend more time sanding with the grain, and check the grain with mineral spirits. Thanks for all the good advice!

 

[1080Wayne]

Joe The lines you are seeing are probably tool marks , rather than sanding ones . When checking for sanding effectiveness , try different light sources . Light coming in at a low incidence level works best for me on most materials , but I haven`t turned ebony . I remove the blank from the lathe for lengthwise sanding , and usually spend more time on it than on lathe sanding . I also use a 3 diopter circular fluorescent magnifier (compensates for failing eyesight) with the light OFF . Wayne