Originally posted by Mac In Oak Ridge
<br />Tom, Say snakewood or ebony and buffalo horn, all known for splitting no matter what you do. Speed, moderate. Type of drill bit will depend on size and what can reasonably be had in that size. How long before splitting, two days to two months after the pen is assembled.
Have done all but the snakewood so far... with no splitting...
The splitting problems you are having are after the pen is assembled so I doubt very much it has to do with your drilling unless you are heating up the blank too much when drilling... I always drill materials like that at slow speed, clearing the bit every 1/4-3/8". The ebony and buffalo horn are heat sensitive, you need to drill them in a way to keep them cool. I always use brad point bits... CSU now has a nice set from 1/8-1/2" in 1/64" increments for about $30 a good buy... I have a similar set and love them.
I would venture to say your splitting problems stem from one of a couple of sources...
Snakewook - notorious for splitting no matter what anyone has done.. do a search on site for the various "tricks and ideas" that have been discussed, I do not have first hand knowledge on this yet
Ebony and buffalo horn - very heat sensitive. DO NOT use friction polish on these items. You are asking for them to split... in fact on ebony and horn I generally just sand to 12000MM followed by plastic polish and leave it at that...
Agressive sanding will build up heat and cause cracking on these.
Another trick is to sand the insides of the tubes after turning so that instead of a hard press fit you have a fit that needs just a drop of CA to hold the parts in place.. this should also eliminate an internal pressure on the material that might cause cracking.
This is about all I can tell you based on what you have said... I hope it helps and please remember these are only based on my personal experience... it is not gospel...
But also remember.. this craft is not rocket science...