Why does Ebony keep kicking my backside?

[jlame1984]

I am fairly new to penturning and so far all of my attempts to use ebony have failed. I have had cracking in the CA finish and wood splitting when pressing the pens together. I have had the blanks explode (fly apart) on the lathe, good reason for safety glasses. I always keep my tools sharp, but so far I haven't had any luck. I am currently using Gaboon I got at Woodcraft, buy one get two free. Any tips or tricks? What am I missing?

 

[omb76]

Don't let it heat up. That's probably the most important rule with ebony. It's prone to cracking anyway. I've had an ebony Sierra click pen for about a year now and I still check it ever so often to see if it's cracked.

 

[airrat]

Don't let it over heat when drilling, turning or sanding.

 

[mrcook4570]

Exotic woods are generally sold in various stages of air drying, so they still have some moisture content above ambient conditions. Some will dry faster than others. Some are more stable than others. Ebony will take much longer to dry than most of the other woods and it is much more temperamental than others.

So, you can either play by its rules - anticipate it cracking, partially turn it, allow it to crack, then finish turn it.

Or, you can switch to African blackwood.

 

[nativewooder]

Any piece of gaboon ebony that you purchase will be green and wet to some degree. Slowly and carefully drill the required hole size, and then, put it on a shelf to dry for at least five years. After five years you will have forgotten about all the bad experiences.:biggrin: Grade A ebony will shine very well due to the oils in the wood. Sealing it with CA glue can result in heat build up causing the wood to crack, maybe two or three years in the future. Ebony is very brittle and prone to splintering. DAMHIKT!

 

[IPD_Mrs]

If you got it from woodcraft then it was most likely covered in wax. Moisture will most likely be in the 10% range. Any wood that we get that has wax on it, we will remove the wax. A wood scraper works great. Once all the wax is gobe we then put the blanks in a bucket full of saw dust and let it sit for 3-4 weeks. Moisture is then down to 7% by then and ready to work.

Now when drilling ebony, we blow compressed air in the drill bit veins as we drill. It not only helps to clear the bit but it also keeps the blank cool.

 

[nativewooder]

Any piece of gaboon ebony that you purchase will be green and wet to some degree. Slowly and carefully drill the required hole size, and then, put it on a shelf to dry for at least five years. After five years you will have forgotten about all the bad experiences.:biggrin: Grade A ebony will shine very well due to the oils in the wood. Sealing it with CA glue can result in heat build up causing the wood to crack, maybe two or three years in the future. Ebony is very brittle and prone to splintering. DAMHIKT!

 

[ctubbs]

Now when drilling ebony, we blow compressed air in the drill bit veins as we drill. It not only helps to clear the bit but it also keeps the blank cool.

Mike and Linda, that is a great idea! Can't figure out why I never thought of that. I did think about pouring water in the hole when drilling plastic. I have used water on aluminum and that works great, but air in the hole, great idea. Thanks.
Charles

 

[Jgrden]

I've learned to over-drill the size of the hole. Instead of using CA, epoxy is a better choice. The woods needs to be dry and either baking or microwaving helps to prepare it. Some pens, after being finished, and several months later, cracked. These were taken apart, refinished by gluing, squeezing drying, sanding and refinishing it. The result was a beautiful, aged, cracked look.

 

[bitshird]

Best suggestion is sort of what Stan said, als like MLK said scrape off the wax, let the blank aclimate to your shop for a few months, drill it and let it sit for a few more months, it will probably have cracked by then, is so seal the crack with CA, then again let it sit, you have to take pretty much the same approach with Snakewood, and with both Avoid heat both while drilling, (real sharp drill bits) and particularly while sanding, the wood will shift and change shape for quite a while and being a very dense wood, it can take a year or more before it is truly ready to make a pen with, but when they are done and finished they are incredible works of penturning and wort the extra effort.

 

[KenV]

did someone say sharp sharp sharp tools? I love ebony finials and ebony pens, but you have to treat it kindly and it has great respect for sharp tools.

did someone say scary sharp tools?? they result in minimum of sanding and none is best

 

[Jgrden]

did someone say sharp sharp sharp tools? I love ebony finials and ebony pens, but you have to treat it kindly and it has great respect for sharp tools.

did someone say scary sharp tools?? they result in minimum of sanding and none is best

You are the man. I agree with you. Sharp tools. :wink: The absence of heat helps but I still think epoxy helps allot. Also how thin you are trying to make the blank? Making a thin Slimline would not be my choice.

 

[omb76]

Exotics sells a very nice Alternate Ebony!

 

[jlame1984]

Thanks for the input all.Then pen I was attempting to make was a woodcraft Navigator. I think I will try seasoning the wood after I have drilled it. I am in no hurry to make something out of ebony. Thanks again. It just goes to show that not all woods are created equal...I just wish it didn't cost so much to find that out!

 

[KenV]

Bill at Arizona Sil has some 11/16 Gabon Ebony for under $3 a piece

http://www.arizonasilhouetteinc.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=86&products_id=2046

That will do for a Baron/Navigator if you are careful with drilling the cap.

 

[KDM]

Wow. I must've got really lucky. I can be pretty brutal, but I turned my first ebony blank this weekend (photos to follow) without event. I put a CA finish on it. The trouble is, it now looks like it is just a piece of black plastic (no discernable grain) which is a bit irritating. I'm thinkgin of sanding it down again and just waxing it or something.

 

[Jgrden]

Wow. I must've got really lucky. I can be pretty brutal, but I turned my first ebony blank this weekend (photos to follow) without event. I put a CA finish on it. The trouble is, it now looks like it is just a piece of black plastic (no discernable grain) which is a bit irritating. I'm thinkgin of sanding it down again and just waxing it or something.

JUST WAIT, MY FRIEND. Keep an eye on it. :wink:

 

[KDM]

JUST WAIT, MY FRIEND. Keep an eye on it. :wink:

Oh, no. Don't say that! You're rarely wrong, but I hope you are this time!

 

[Jgrden]

JUST WAIT, MY FRIEND. Keep an eye on it. :wink:

Oh, no. Don't say that! You're rarely wrong, but I hope you are this time!

Heh, heh, heh, betcha a beer. I'll collect the next time I am in your neck of the woods. :wink:

 

[TellicoTurning]

I didn't read all the post, and so someone may have already posted this, but in my experience there are two types of ebony pens... those that are cracked and those that will crack...

I am fairly new to penturning and so far all of my attempts to use ebony have failed. I have had cracking in the CA finish and wood splitting when pressing the pens together. I have had the blanks explode (fly apart) on the lathe, good reason for safety glasses. I always keep my tools sharp, but so far I haven't had any luck. I am currently using Gaboon I got at Woodcraft, buy one get two free. Any tips or tricks? What am I missing?

 

[KDM]

I turned my first ebony blank this weekend (photos to follow) without event.

As promised, here's my ebony pen. So, what do I do? Do I sand it down and leave it like that or just sit back and wait for it to crack?

 

[76winger]

You guys are scaring me!

I've made and sold several ebony pen/pencil sets in the Comfort size, as well as an Olympian, Magnetic Necklace pen and a few others. I've never had any problems with turning them or any of them cracking. Most sold within a few months of making them though, so I don't have long-term history on them, but some have been out for well over a year now.

I most of the cases, I've had the blanks sitting around for a few months before doing anything with them, and turned with sharp tools and keep heat down during sanding. Glue I use is normally epoxy for all woods and on hard woods I stay with Shellawax for the finish instead of CA.

Now, Snakewood, yeah, that stuff cracked after about a week, but I was warned it would so I left it set unfinished until it did, then finished it with CA and couldn't even find the crack afterwards.

Have I just been lucky with Ebony, or is it possible the finish I'm using is allowing it to breath more and crack less?