Is all Ebony pron to cracking?

[r1237h]

I need to make two pens with parts as dark as I can get them. One the one hand, Ebony is as dark as it gets, but it also has a tendency to crack. Is that all Ebony, or just Gabon Ebony?

And if all Ebony, what other option would do? African Blackwood?

Thanks.

 

[ed4copies]

The cracking characteristic of ebony is the reason MANY pen makers are using Blackwood. There is a budding worldwide shortage of blackwood, so buy it now, if you can find it.

 

[commercialbuilder]

I have made 6 pens out of Gaboon Ebony and so far none has cracked. I have not done anything different than I usually do on a wood blank.

 

[jttheclockman]

The problem with trying to answer that question is you have no idea what the conditions that pen will see. You have to always remember and I am beginning to sound like a broken record but wood is wood. It moves any wood can crack. You are anchoring a piece of wood to a piece of metal. That metal does not expand and contract the same as the wood. Put that pen in an extreme humidity or atmosphere that is a dramtic change it can crack instantly or may be subject to crack later. When pressing parts into the tube, the tighter or harder it takes to press them in the more chances of cracking because of the stress you put on such a thin diameter piece of wood.

You as about ebony. If you want dark black wood you can always dye maple which is a bit better and more stable wood but again no guarentees that it won't crack. Many segmenting turners use Gabon Ebony in their projects. Here are examples of my use of Gabon ebony. The holly and ebony segmented pen is one I still own and it sits on my desk all the time. It is not subject to drastic climate changes. There is no cracks in it. I used 2 coats of thin ca as a sealer and then 8 coats of med ca as a the finish. I also and this is very important, sealed the ends with thin ca so that it wicked into the grain. I think this is a step alot of people forget.

The ebony and aluminum pen is not in my possesion any more. That sold before I got it off the lathe so I do not know that condition. I also make small birdhouse ornaments and use ebony and holly alot for contrast and they have no cracks. Again though there is no stress and the climate is not drastic. The ones I have ever shipped, I have never gotten any return calls.

I know this does not answer your question but to me there is no answer. Just make sure you are using dry materials to start with and hand push the parts together to elliminate the pressure of the kits when assembling.

 

[Holz Mechaniker]

The main thing about ebony is that when you see it on the shelf of your favorite timber/lumber sales or online. It is green perhaps air dried for a few month prior to being loaded on a ship. Roughly 2-3 months to a Customs warehouse... even after all that time it still has a high enough moisture content that when it is turned, it shrinks leading up to the inevitable.

Options beyond even black-wood;
Depending on the tannin content you can apply an Iron Acetate. or there is the sharpie
Hope this helps you a little more

 

[KenV]

Unless you really need ebony, Fieblings USMC Black dye makes most anything as black as possible. It has been around and tested for durability. Hard maple or other tight grained wood become black.

I have some old ebony and never have a cracking problem. Mailing 7 ebony pens today. Very little of my ebony is a pure even black. Most has small streaks of dark grey and darks browns in it.

 

[BRobbins629]

Did Stradivarious put CA on his ebony fingerboards? I think not. There are many musical instruments with parts made of unfinished ebony. Perhaps some have cracked, but not as many as there are reports on pens. As John and others mentioned, it is the stress and moisture conditions that cause ebony to crack. Pressing fitings in tubes and/or using wet ebony are the key culrpits. If all you want is black, there are many solutions as mentioned. You could also use more traditional pen materials such as black ebonite. There is even alternate ebony (a plastic) and other black plastics that work real well in pens. If you really want ebony, there are ways to minimize the chances of cracking such as proper drying and using slip fit with glue rather than press fit parts.

 

[fantasticalwoodworks]

I have made quite a few projects out of Gabon Ebony and only two cracked one was a bottle that the lid was slightly to large and when inserted cracked the bottle and the other was a pen that I tried to drill to fast of a RPM and the bit generated to much heat and caused the blank to later crack I since slowed the RPM down to around 800 and clear the bit often and have had no more problems