Stabilized Blackwood?

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marionquill

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I've not tried turning blackwood yet because I hear so often that it tends to crack, especially after a year or so. I was just wondering if any of you have tried stabilized blackwood and if so, how has it held up? I have a freind that wants an Emperor set as a going away gift to one of his buddies and blackwood is one of the types he's asking about...

Thanks!
Jason
 
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mrcook4570

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Ebony will crack, but blackwood will not. Blackwood is actually a rosewood. Stabilizing is ineffective because it is too dense.
 

marcruby

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Blackwood will crack too in the right circumstances. It's brittle under bending stress as well. I use it for finials and sometimes it will break if you look at it too hard. You have to dry it very carefully

But you're right, stabilizing isn't likely to have much effect. The best think for either wood is to drill the hole slightly loose and use something like insta-bond flexible CA as the glue, which allows for some movement.

Marc

Ebony will crack, but blackwood will not. Blackwood is actually a rosewood. Stabilizing is ineffective because it is too dense.
 
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I just sent off a remake of a blackwood pen that I made about 6 or 8 months ago and sold to a local gallery... it developed a series of little cracks in both the cap end and the barrel.... in it's defense I think the gallery put the pen under lights and may have led to the cracks.
 

marcruby

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I've made a hundred or so blackwood finials -- they crack about 20% of the time. And a dozen or so blackwood pens - I think I still have one or two that cracked and were returned. Maybe it's Michigan weather, but I'll stick with me on this one.

Oops! I just checked my records - make that 26 blackwood pens, 4 were returned for cracks and replaced. I guess that means I can say dozens now too.

I've made and sold dozens of African blackwood pens and never had an issue with cracking. I'm with Stan on this one.
 
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marionquill

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Hmmmm - much to consider on this one. I like how African Blackwood looks, perhaps I'll make myself a new fountain pen and see how it holds up to my abuse :D

Thanks for the help!
Jason
 

wdcav1952

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Jason,

I haven't turned much African Blackwood, but I do know that practically every wood pen that has cracked on me likely was over heated during turning or finishing.

Disclaimer: The above post in no way insinuates that any IAP member who has had African Blackwood to crack made any errors of commission or omission.
 

marcruby

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I would hazard a guess that ebony and blackwood (and a few others as well) crack due to temperature variation. Neither wood moves very much under weather conditions. My guess is they expand less than the brass tube. So if you assemble a pen in cold heat dry weather then in the humid spring you're likely to have a crack.

What I can tell you is that when I epanded the drill hole a bit and used a more friendly glue the cracking problem vanished. You bring up a good point -- it's not a good idea to drill out a blank, causing it to heat up, and them immediately glue in the tube. Letting it reacclimiatize for a few days. I'm used to doing that for flatwork and bowls, but seem to prefer to rush through assembly to turning when it comes to pens.

Marc

Jason,

I haven't turned much African Blackwood, but I do know that practically every wood pen that has cracked on me likely was over heated during turning or finishing.

Disclaimer: The above post in no way insinuates that any IAP member who has had African Blackwood to crack made any errors of commission or omission.
 
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