Thread: Wenge is a nightmare! Challenge Box #4

Yes Wenge can be a bit of a challenge.

Hi Pete,

That looks like a big box! Perhaps if you detail how you processed the Wenge, we could help. Without knowing what saw blades, thicknessing process you use and so on, it's hard to say what the exact problem is. I find Wenge reasonable to work, but you can expect a lot of splintering if you work too fast with it. Also, try placing it between two other pieces of timber when you are sawing or routing (if possible). Oh, and very sharp tools!

The trays in the box below are 6mm deep Wenge, with mitred ends. It can be done.

Regards,

Rob

G'day Pete. I've got a nice Wenge board here that I'm planning to make into something fairly soon.
I'll approach it a bit more cautiously now. Never worked with Wenge before.

Bummer Pete!! But we all learnt something thanks to your efforts!!

Well done. Somewhere deep in my forefinger I'm sure I have a sliver of Wenge left from binding an instrument. It's beautiful but challenging.

OK - I'm thinking drum sander for board prep rather than jointer/thicknesser. Fresh zero clearance insert for the tablesaw before starting. Not sure routing wenge is a good idea at all, even with very sharp cutters.

How does wenge respond to hand planing? Does it suffer from tearout, or would a high cutting angle on a bevel up plane help?

Curious to know in case I ever get enough of it to make anything out of......

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

OK - I'm thinking drum sander for board prep rather than jointer/thicknesser. Fresh zero clearance insert for the tablesaw before starting. Not sure routing wenge is a good idea at all, even with very sharp cutters.

How does wenge respond to hand planing? Does it suffer from tearout, or would a high cutting angle on a bevel up plane help?

Curious to know in case I ever get enough of it to make anything out of......

Mr B...It's not that bad. Thicknessing works, right down to 4 x 4 mm sticks. Cutting is fine and routing just isn't an issue. Yes it splinters, but it does work reasonably well.

Here's some more Wenge stuff.

1. Is a Memorial box with a glass pane and backboard in the lid. This involved routing a double rebate into the Wenge. No problem!

2. Is a hall Table, made from Wenge (legs, top surround and panel dividers), Zebrano (which I reckon works a lot worse than Wenge) and Tasmanian Blackwood (shelf). You can see from the reflection in the leg of pic #3 that it takes a good finish too.

Regards,

Rob

Love the box - really shows off the colour/grain of the Wenge.

I think you have to be really careful what timbers you mix the Wenge with to get best effect. It does go well with Zebrano though. Not sure I'd pair it with Blackwood?

I've seen these timbers as veneers too somewhere; using veneered board for the larger sections of a table might be easier, with solid edging.

The small bits of solid Wenge I've seen for sale were quite expensive. Viable for something small like a box, but a bit of an indulgence for larger pieces?

Thanks for posting the pics.

Nice stuff Rob!

Overall, I've had good experience working with Wenge. Jointing and thicknessing have usually gone very well, and I've worked it with a chisel and shoulder plane without many issues.

This board was quarter sawn, so any time any force was applied perpendicular to the face surfaces (cutting those shoulder half-lap joints on the table saw) the risk of blow-out on the face oposite the cuts entry was really high...almost 100%!

When I changed up the design to salvage the one box and used mitered corners, all the cuts were smooth and clean.

I still want to try the design with Wenge (glutton for punishment!) but I think I will hand cut those corner joints next time.