Looking For Your Favorite Ebonite Tips And Tricks

[wade45]

Hey folks,

Getting back into pen turning and continuing with where I left off 12 years ago. Kit-less was the hot thing to be working on skill wise. I never worked with ebonite back than so I am looking for your favorite tidbits on working and finishing ebonite.

I'm casting a few parts in gold and silver and want to throw in some color with the ebonite.

Thanks
Wade

 

[duncsuss]

Generally I've found ebonite works well - but ever since I got a batch that was riddled with pinhole bubbles I've avoided the cheapest stuff and now only use German or Japanese materials. Normally buy it from Vermont Freehand or Exotic Blanks.

I've never tried threading it finer than 0.5mm pitch, and usually stick to 0.75mm or 0.8mm.

It seems no matter how fine I sand it (either Micromesh or the Zona papers) it always looks dull until I buff it with tripoli, white diamond, blue, and Plas-Glo and fine plastic compounds from Caswell Plating. And even then, I never quite get the level of shine that Renee Meeks (Scriptorium Pens) achieves

 

[wade45]

Thanks for the info Duncan!

 

[NGLJ]

I only started using Ebonite recently. Interestingly, I have not had any major difficulty polishing to a high gloss. I don't say that because I have some superior knowledge, and perhaps I have simply been lucky. I approach it in exactly the same way as I would for Alumilite, for example. Finish shaping with coarser grit (80 or 120 depending on amount of work needed) using wet Abranet, then finer wet Abranet grits up to 600, then wet micro-mesh to 12,000, and finish with Hut's polishing compound. If there is a key to some success is that you absolutely MUST remove all sanding marks before moving to the next grit. I know that should always be the case, but it seems to be very critical with Ebonite.

Compared to Alumilite, I found that you really had to work at it for an extended period within each grit. Shining a light on it is very revealing. There is no doubt that then giving it a working over with blue compound and then a polishing wheel does add a little extra sparkle. Essentially, patience will be rewarded. I would say that it took at least twice as long as Alumilite or Acrylic. I don't claim that this is the only potential approach, but it seems to work for me. There are as many finishing techniques as there are makers .

 

[Woodchipper]

Thanks for the remarks.

 

[wade45]

I only started using Ebonite recently. Interestingly, I have not had any major difficulty polishing to a high gloss. I don't say that because I have some superior knowledge, and perhaps I have simply been lucky. I approach it in exactly the same way as I would for Alumilite, for example. Finish shaping with coarser grit (80 or 120 depending on amount of work needed) using wet Abranet, then finer wet Abranet grits up to 600, then wet micro-mesh to 12,000, and finish with Hut's polishing compound. If there is a key to some success is that you absolutely MUST remove all sanding marks before moving to the next grit. I know that should always be the case, but it seems to be very critical with Ebonite.

Compared to Alumilite, I found that you really had to work at it for an extended period within each grit. Shining a light on it is very revealing. There is no doubt that then giving it a working over with blue compound and then a polishing wheel does add a little extra sparkle. Essentially, patience will be rewarded. I would say that it took at least twice as long as Alumilite or Acrylic. I don't claim that this is the only potential approach, but it seems to work for me. There are as many finishing techniques as there are makers .

Thanks for the tips I'll let you know how it works for me.