Ebony

[Garno]

Todays question is about Ebony.

I have a small amount of Ebony that was kindly donated to me, It arrived full of tears (or is it tares?) that I have cut away and I am left with enough blanks to do 2 x Slimline and 2 x any pen type.

So that leaves me very little room to make pens out of them in my usual way (head down and go as fast as I can), so this time I thought I would ask the questions before I guess and try my answer to making them, I'm sure you know what I mean folks with my turning

I believe (or have a thought stuck in my head) that ebony is different to other woods and needs to be turned using very sharp tools and is very easy to mess up. What I need to know is should I still turn the blanks at the fastest lathe speed?

Secondly concerns the finishing, again I believe that Ebony actually increases it's shine/patina over the years when handled or when used a lot. If that is correct what is the best way of finishing it when first turned? Do I still need to use sanding sealer followed by CA/Melamine or just buff up with a bit of wood polish/wax?



Edited to ask the best way of drilling?

 

[TVS]

Hi m8 yes turn fast with very sharpe tools and sand very slowly as Ebony don’t like heat at all it was the first wood I made pens with and every one split after a few days as for finishing as per usual m8 have fun happy turning

 

[silver]

In my experience, much like Woody would recommend following what he advises.

I have posted recently some African Blackwood and its very similar as well.

The only few thing I would say is

1 - Drill blanks very slowly. slow feed rate and between 500 & 800 RPM.
2 - make sure the blanks are brought inside for at least a couple of weeks to acclimatise to the drier conditions. (I'm presuming your house is dry of course!) ideally you need moisture content between 5 and 10% if you can, do not be tempted to put them on a radiator.
3 - Clean the inside of the blank (Acetone) using a cotton wool bud or the likes. Removes any oil residue to give the glue a better chance of adhering. I would recommend using 2 part epoxy or Polyurethane.
4 - When turned to size before applying sanding sealer, wipe with Acetone again. finish in your normally way, if using CA or Melamine, wipe the surface of the finished blank again with Acetone before adding the finish. (If using friction polish its not a problem)
5 - Once finished you need to be aware that it can crack just being left in sunlight, its black and will try shrink. It is not very forgiving.

With all the above you stand a chance of keeping the pen in good condition and give you (Or the customer) great service.

Don't let any of what I have advised put you off, follow it as best you can and at least in my view you will be doing things right. There are others that don't even bother with any of it, get away with it as well, so depends on how you feel your Russian roulette luck is...

 

[Garno]

In my experience, much like Woody would recommend following what he advises.

I have posted recently some African Blackwood and its very similar as well.

The only few thing I would say is

1 - Drill blanks very slowly. slow feed rate and between 500 & 800 RPM.
2 - make sure the blanks are brought inside for at least a couple of weeks to acclimatise to the drier conditions. (I'm presuming your house is dry of course!) ideally you need moisture content between 5 and 10% if you can, do not be tempted to put them on a radiator.
3 - Clean the inside of the blank (Acetone) using a cotton wool bud or the likes. Removes any oil residue to give the glue a better chance of adhering. I would recommend using 2 part epoxy or Polyurethane.
4 - When turned to size before applying sanding sealer, wipe with Acetone again. finish in your normally way, if using CA or Melamine, wipe the surface of the finished blank again with Acetone before adding the finish. (If using friction polish its not a problem)
5 - Once finished you need to be aware that it can crack just being left in sunlight, its black and will try shrink. It is not very forgiving.

With all the above you stand a chance of keeping the pen in good condition and give you (Or the customer) great service.

Don't let any of what I have advised put you off, follow it as best you can and at least in my view you will be doing things right. There are others that don't even bother with any of it, get away with it as well, so depends on how you feel your Russian roulette luck is...

Fantastic post mate, I had that niggling feeling that it was not as straight forward as say oak to turn and get the best results.

Thank you

 

[Penpal]

Caution is real,my worst experiences have come with purchases over the years,faulting inside the blocks. For me it has to be top class before using fully or better still turn to African Blackwood for me. Good luck.

 

[wm460]

2 - make sure the blanks are brought inside for at least a couple of weeks to acclimatise to the drier conditions.

So The easiest thing to do to save your self a lot of frustration and heartache is to send them to me, My shed is guaranteed dry.

 

[kinverkid]

Fantastic post mate, I had that niggling feeling that it was not as straight forward as say oak to turn and get the best results.

Thank you

I just joined this forum and saw your post. Let me know if you were successful although, with the good advice above and seeing your work on UKWS, I would imagine you've 'turned' out some nice pens. I have plenty more blanks but I've not come across any with shakes so far. So no freebies as yet.