black wooden pen for a customer

[watch_art]

One of my customers is requesting a black wooden pen.

I know absolutely nothing about wood, so any recommendations about wood and stain would be great. I'll be making it with inserts and finishing off with a CA finish - black acrylic for the inserts.

Thanks!

 

[mredburn]

Ebony if you decide to use it has to be drilled very slowly so as not to get the wood hot. Drill a little, let it cool, drill a little, let it cool. African blackwood is probably a better choice.

 

[watch_art]

Thanks. Now to find some.

 

[its_virgil]

African blackwood is an excellant choice. It turns great and not a cracker like ebony.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

Sent from my Samsung Epic using Forum runner

 

[watch_art]

Ordered some from woodcraft along with a couple black acrylics. A bit pricey for the plastic, but the wood was cheap enough. 5 pieces for $14.

 

[nava1uni]

You can also use any wood that is light in color and dye it with Indian ink or black shoe polish and then seal it with sanding sealer or CA. I do it all the time and it looks great. Don is right that Blackwood is easier to work with then Ebony.

 

[Mike D]

You can also use hard maple, turn it just shy of the bushings and then stain the blank with black india ink, allow to dry then sand and polish.

 

[watch_art]

DANG! I wish I had waited a couple days before ordering, now... oh well.
I'll do the India ink thing, too, later on. That's a great idea.

 

[mrcook4570]

African blackwood is a joy to turn. It is a member of the rosewood family.

 

[jthompson1995]

You could also look into Irish bog oak. A nice black blank would make for a very nice pen. I really like the grain of the oak you can see in the blanks.

 

[TerryDowning]

google ebonizing wood. Lots of ways to skin this cat.

Terry

 

[bubbamorse]

Ebony if you decide to use it has to be drilled very slowly so as not to get the wood hot. Drill a little, let it cool, drill a little, let it cool. African blackwood is probably a better choice.

Ebony is persnickety! I turned one pen in it and have sense given up on the wood...it's oily and burns easily (IMHO).

 

[Twissy]

+1 on the Irish bog oak.
Personally I don't like a CA finish on black wood. I think the grain gets lost, and it almost looks like black acrylic. IMO a wax finish looks and feels more natural.
Regards
John

 

[Jgrden]

I have ebony and will send you two blanks. What is your address??

jgrden@gmail.com

 

[watch_art]

Wow! Thanks!

 

[Richard Earl]

While ebony is hard to work, when you can finish it without it cracking it is amazing, particularly in a Rhodium pen. But you can turn several pens before you get one without cracks. Sand SLOWLY, don't let it build up any heat. Here are a couple of ebony pens I did quite a while back.

And another possibility is spalted buckeye burl. It can be hard to find and expensive even if you find it. However, it can be black with accents that make it quite beautiful. It is a wood I use very often on my high end pens.

 

[Jarod888]

I turned an pen out of ebony for my best friend a few days ago. I think it turned out well.