ebony

[TheClash]

so i am going to be working with some ebony soon...just wondering if y'all had some tips on it for me.....such as....how high of a polish will it take?, what glues/epoxies work best, can i use tung oil?? and anything else you can think of. thanks so much.

[mtnfolk]

Clash -

Get ready for your entire work area and yourself to look like a charcoal bomb went off. You will want to wear a mask or you'll wish you had. In my opinion, other than the mess and smokey smell, ebony works like any other hard wood. Use sharp belts or hand sand in decreasing grit sizes and get ready for them to fill up quickly. I've never put any type of finish on my knives when I've used ebony. It will polish up very nicely if you take it from 220> 400 > 600, and finally to at least 1500 grit. Hit it with your favorite polishing compound on your buffer and you're good to go. One other hint is to try to go the opposite direction with each grit change. Ebony has some long grain to it that may appear as scratches at first. You can't expect it to look like polished horn, micarta or plastic but it will shine up nicely.

Hope this helps.

[TheClash]

thanks so much..that helps.

[chiger]

Clash,

I've only worked with African or Gabon ebony. If that is what you are using Mr. Jerrett told you right about the stuff. Absolutely wear a mask. There are health warnings for people who have asthma or allergies. Doesn't bother my skin, but may cause skin irritations in some people. Of course poison ivy doesn't bother me...so if your allergic and get a rash you'll know.

He also told you right about the hard bit. Although he may have understated it a bit. The stuff feels like a piece of granite when it's polished. And it machines about like it. And it is chucked full of resin.

As to glues, you can use anything you use on other exotic woods or materials with heavy resin content. The trick is the same as with them. Leave the mounting surfaces rough as you can and still get the fit you want. You can even cut or grind groves in the mounting surfaces where it won't show to give the glue something to grip.

Yes you can use tung oil although I'm not sure it is really needed. I've heard there is a risk of cracking over time if it's not sealed although I've never seen it. I've got a 30 year old guitar with an ebony fret board that has never been treated and looks like new.

Good luck, it's hard to work...but worth every extra drop of sweat.

chiger,

[TheClash]

it is macassar ebony......any advice for this type?

thanks for everything so far.

[Crex]

Don't try to peen your pins if you're doing slabs. Ebony like most all hard-hard woods is brittle and will split with that one final "tap" - ergo roughen pins and good epoxy. If you mix a small drop of Fiebings' USMC Black leather dye to your epoxy once mixed, glue joints will not show.
Macassar will work the same way as will Persimmon (the native American ebony).

[TheClash]

carl great tip on the glue joints...and i won't peen the pins..thanks so much guys.