Randy_
Member
Johnathan has another thread going about a new Ebony pen that is leaqving home shortly and it got me to thinking about the cracking issue which most folks haven't mastered yet. Two thoughts occurred to me and I decided to see if anyone had tried either of these remedies. My assumption is the cracking is caused by changes in moisture content of the wood. If it turns out that is an incorrect assumption, then neither of these ideas may be worth much.
First thought was to wonder if anyone had ever tried to stabilize ebony and if that process did anything to reduce the cracking problem?? Second thought was to "bake" the ebony blanks at about 220°F for several hours and maybe even overnight to drive out as much moisture as possible before drilling the blanks.
The above may be just the ramblings of a turner with zip experience using ebony. Sometimes the old brain takes me places that maybe I shouldn't venture into???
First thought was to wonder if anyone had ever tried to stabilize ebony and if that process did anything to reduce the cracking problem?? Second thought was to "bake" the ebony blanks at about 220°F for several hours and maybe even overnight to drive out as much moisture as possible before drilling the blanks.
The above may be just the ramblings of a turner with zip experience using ebony. Sometimes the old brain takes me places that maybe I shouldn't venture into???