Now I'm having ebony nightmares.

[bensoelberg]

A lady who did some laser work for me last Christmas called and asked if I would make some pens for her out of some special wood that she had purchased. She wants 3 cigars and 2 slimlines. The wood is macassar ebony. She brought me the entire plank, which is 12" x 6" x 1.5" and said that I could keep all of the wood that I don't use. Now with all of the recent talk about how difficult ebony is to finish and how likely it is to crack, I'm somewhat terrified. My original plan was to put a CA finish on it, and I was definitely going to thoroughly wipe down the blanks with acetone to remove the oils from the surface, then quickly lay down 3-4 coats of thin CA to seal the blank. Now I think I should probably drill out the blanks with slightly smaller drill and flood the hole with thin CA as well as per the suggestion in another thread. The wood has been sitting in my shop for about a month, and is fully acclimated to that environment, but I haven't cut it into blanks yet, because I just got my bandsaw working this morning. I am mostly scared about the cracking. I'm wondering if cross cutting the blanks would be a good idea because cracks usually follow grain lines so any cracking wouldn't travel the entire length of the pen. Does that make sense? Here is the wood, with a Jr. Gent for reference.

 

[C. Scott]

Ben,

I have made a few Ebony pens. On my first ones I put a friction finish on them and they both cracked (but not bad) within hours of finishing. A few years later (after I learned to CA) I turned 6 ebony pens (5 cigars and one Euro) and used a CA finish. As far as I know they haven't cracked and that was a few years ago. What's funny is the customer gave me the wood to make the pens from and I could keep the remaining wood (kind of like what you're describing).

As far as finishing goes I DON'T wipe down the wood with a solvent. A paper towel or a blast of compressed air but not solvents. After I did that I didn't have any problems with the CA not sticking to the wood.

The piece that I had to work with was half of a "log" which was about 8" diameter and over a foot long. After I cut it up it did crack (I told the customer that it would probably crack). I just filled cracks with the sanding dust turning the turning. However, as I stated earlier once the pens were finished they didn't crack.

Just go for it! The wood is really nice to turn and it is pretty.

 

[kugler]

Hi Ben,
I've turned several pens (15+) using ebony from CS and have never had a problem with cracks. I also use a CA finish and epoxy for the tube. Good luck.
Thanks,
Roger

PS- Now SNAKEWOOD.... that's a totally different story!

 

[workinforwood]

I would not cross cut it. Go with the grain. If it cracks it cracks no matter what, but if you cross cut it then it can not just crack but shrink away from the pen parts too. Cracks can be repairs by simply taking the pen apart, grinding some ebony with a belt sander into a cup and making a sawdust slurry. I've had it crack and had it never crack..no point worrying about it, it's an easy fix.

 

[StephenM]

Macassar Ebony (the stripy stuff) isn't related to Gaboon Ebony (the black stuff) and doesn't have the same oils that make Gaboon Ebony more difficult to glue and finish.

As long as it's dried and acclimated, you shouldn't have to worry about cracking as most of the checking and cracking takes place while it's drying. To be safe, I'd cut the blanks and let them sit for another week or two before working them.

 

[robutacion]

A lady who did some laser work for me last Christmas called and asked if I would make some pens for her out of some special wood that she had purchased. She wants 3 cigars and 2 slimlines. The wood is macassar ebony. She brought me the entire plank, which is 12" x 6" x 1.5" and said that I could keep all of the wood that I don't use. Now with all of the recent talk about how difficult ebony is to finish and how likely it is to crack, I'm somewhat terrified. My original plan was to put a CA finish on it, and I was definitely going to thoroughly wipe down the blanks with acetone to remove the oils from the surface, then quickly lay down 3-4 coats of thin CA to seal the blank. Now I think I should probably drill out the blanks with slightly smaller drill and flood the hole with thin CA as well as per the suggestion in another thread. The wood has been sitting in my shop for about a month, and is fully acclimated to that environment, but I haven't cut it into blanks yet, because I just got my bandsaw working this morning. I am mostly scared about the cracking. I'm wondering if cross cutting the blanks would be a good idea because cracks usually follow grain lines so any cracking wouldn't travel the entire length of the pen. Does that make sense? Here is the wood, with a Jr. Gent for reference.

Well, certainly everyone has different opinions and that is just normal but if was me, I would be thinking on what type of wood effect I wanted for the pens, then I would be either cutting it diagonal (45°) as per pic-1 or the 2 tone, which are always my preferred choice when possible, shown the cut on pic 2. but, from the block of wood you have to work with, the diagonal cut will give you also blanks with the 2 tone just in different orientation...!

I also would wipe the wood before starting the CA finish with either acetone or accelerator, that in fact, is a good habit to have in any wood, making the wood a lot cleaner for the CA...!

Friction polishes, are one of the worse things one can use with woods that tend to crack quite easily, the heat generated is responsible for the wood to crack, particularly if the wood thickness is minimal. However, great care is require with the sanding process, particularly the dry sanding as too much heat will create the same problems as the friction polishes.

As I said, everyone has different ways to go about things and is never the right or wrong ways to do it but, certain methods/processes are more effective then others...!

Good luck...!

Cheers
George

 

[chrisk]

Macassar Ebony (the stripy stuff) isn't related to Gaboon Ebony (the black stuff) and doesn't have the same oils that make Gaboon Ebony more difficult to glue and finish.

As long as it's dried and acclimated, you shouldn't have to worry about cracking as most of the checking and cracking takes place while it's drying. To be safe, I'd cut the blanks and let them sit for another week or two before working them.

+1 on this. Macassar and Gaboon Ebony are completely different woods.

 

[Atherton Pens]

I will add my thoughts from experience with ebony. I just finished an "over under" from PSI with an ebony top for the shotgun shell look. The first one I did like this was a nightmare.

I will not bore you with what did not work, only what has worked for me:

Straight grain (not cross cut), sharp (I mean sharp or carbide tools!), lathe RPM about 2500. Then sand to 600 grit.
Then a good heavy spray of CA accelerator followed by a quick paper towel rub to remove sanding dust.
Then three quick coats of thin CA followed by accelerator.
Then several coats of medium CA and MM.
DO NOT ADD BLO or any other chemicals to the ebony or the CA applications.
Worked for me.
Good luck. Keep us informed of your success with the project.

 

[Fred]

HEAT is your enemy with Ebony. If it feels warm to the touch while sanding ... BEWARE trouble is just moments away. If it is really quiet you might even be able to hear it when it cracks on you.

Just go rather slow, use extremely sharp tools at all times ... and no friction polishes!

Good luck on your efforts.

 

[patmurris]

With that much macassar ebony to play with, you've got quiet some room for trial and error... you can cut something like 30 blanks in that plank!

 

[dmott]

I remembered this thread and thought i would post a pen i recently did in ebony. I've done pens in ebony before this and haven't seen them crack. All have CA finishes but I've only had them for around 1 month so that isn't saying much.

For this I wiped down with acetone, thin CA, medium CA, thin CA, 400 grit up through Plastx.

It was really nice to turn (once it was round). The El Grande chunked off a little but the wood is so dark it is impossible to see the slurry of dust I put in there.

They just called it ebony at Rockler, and its black so Im assuming its Gaboon. I love how it almost looks like plastic when finished.

edit: sorry, didnt wipe off prints for the 3rd pic

 

[Jgrden]

Yes, Ebony. I accidentally left several Ebony pens exposed to the sun at one show. All of them split. So like it has been said, heat makes them crack. Send the pen to Alaska.

Oh, and it is a beautiful pen. You obviously care about it and you should.

 

[Live2Dive]

I made a sketch pencil from ebony about a year ago. I let the blank acclimate to my shop before turning. The finish was difficult, as stated by others, but the buyer loved it. He moved to New York about two weeks later and the pen cracked almost a 1/16 apart, the whole length within the first day there. He was so mad at me for this. I hardly touch the stuff now.

 

[okiebugg]

Repair caveat

I've had a few of blanks crack a day or 2 after completing the turning. I discovered a trick while waiting to have my brakes relined on my truck. The dust that comes out of your brake drums is completely black, much like carbon black. It no longer contains asbestos so it is safe to use. In the past, I let the turned blanks 'rest' for a day or so before finishing or assembly. If a crack appeared, I would use a small amount of the black brake dust to fill the crack and put part of a drop of CA on a dental pick. The black stuff can be 'stuffed' into the crack followed by a very small amount of CA.

Today, when almost finished turning a blank, (down to sanding depth) I soak the ends of the blanks with CA to head off any cracks. I don't know if it works or just satisfies me, but I've had no cracks since starting the soaking

 

[AnachitlPut]

Dude that sucks to be you. I doom some pens out of garboon ebony never had a proplem with it. It is the one on the far left.