Thread: an Ebony box in the making.

Gday Tony,
I just started with ebony on the guitar fingerboard and tail piece. The only tip I can give you so far is to cut/sand anywhere but in your shed!
It's like sanding coal, and gets into everything!

Hi Tony,

The ebony projects I've done made me realize some of the bigger issues. The biggest is that it's nearly impossible to glue edge grain. (Tried a wide range of glues and believe me, it came apart) Face grain is OK. The second is the brittle aspects of ebony. Sometimes a hairline crack not normally seen, shows up in the darndest of places at the most inopportune time. Otherwise, I like it. I've found that high polishing works w/o oils, finsihes and if you stay at it, it gets that piano mirror finish. Almost a plastic look.

ICN,

Bill

Just one suggestion... wherever you saw/sand/file/make sawdust, make sure it's clean and put down a suitable rag first.

Collect the sawdust and put it aside in a vented jar. It makes excellent infill material with a bit of epoxy or CA, as do Padauk, Osage Orange and a few other primary coloured timbers...

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

Collect the sawdust and put it aside in a vented jar.

O.K. You got me. Why a vented jar?

Brittle, loves to move and crack, dust a problem (I found I was allergic - 1 spec in my eye was enough ). Pollishes well though.

Originally Posted by ciscokid

O.K. You got me. Why a vented jar?

In case of any dampness, you don't want any spores or similar nasties to start growing in what would be a wonderful little hothouse.

Venting (drilling a hole in the lid) allows the timber to continue to dry, while keeping it in the jar if handled by a clumsy clot.

That tip is a good one. I work with very dry timbers so venting is not an issue. I keep bits of all my fine sanding dusts in film cannisters and covered condiment containers. Having dust from the current project is best- but when you need a bit of padauk dust it is nice to have it already. I have about a dozen containers ready- they don't take up much room. Donna

Tony-
How big is this box going to be? I've never seen ebony bigger than 3" x 4". I looked for some for a turning customer once, but no joy. Everything that has been said about ebony here is true. Hard to glue, messy to work with, brittle as all get out, and finishes beautifully. Worse of all are the table saw and router for inciting the wood to riot- and break up. It is so darned hard that the least vibration/dullness will mess it up- shatter.
I've had some success using it for handles and accents though. The band saw is it's friend, and then I'll mostly use hand tools and power then hand sanding.
We are all salivating to see what your new box is going to look like.
Any hints? Donna

Ebony box, to the client's design, 11cm square, single drawer.

Work with Ebony again? - no, too brittle, too many cracks, problems end grain gluing, too much dust and residue (took an hour to clean the bandsaw).

Client is happy, that is all that counts!

Tony, that's a particularly nice box. I like your client's design, and you execution as always is superb.

I've only used ebony once for a box-lid handle. Carved with rasps and files, and sawed a tenon into it to fit into the lid. Didn't have any problem with brittleness or with glueing it, and it did finish very nicely.