July 15, 201610 yr Today I turned some black Ebony for the first time. A very dense, heavy and hard wood. First thing I notice is that the chips don't go a flying, like normal. A black discharge of tiny particles, more like dust. I used my carbide tools mostly, but did also use my HSS small gouge and parting tool. I did notice that these tools got dull quicker than normal. Does this wood take glue well? Should it be prepped first with an alcohol cleaning?
July 16, 201610 yr I've used African Blackwood- a cousin of Ebony- to make knife scales. You are right about being hard. I used alcohol to clean it before applying epoxy. I think you can use acetone, too. I pinned all my scales and they are holding well. Can't say about TiteBond type glues. Here's some things I found by a Google search- http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/woodworking-and-woodworking-machinery/tips-glueing-ebony-215850/ http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?2677-Gluing-Ebony-to-Ebony Several different opinions.....
July 16, 201610 yr Author I learned a lot and had quite a time with this one. The Ebony is so hard that it didn't take the finish as normal wood does. I used Hut friction finish and did my normal thing. It didn't look good at all. I had to wait for a while for it to polish good. I did go ahead and glue it the normal way with Woodworker II. It won't have to hold any weight and the pieces were tight enough that I could left the glue out. Then the yellow heart kept chipping out. I wanted to make the yellow heart much smaller but was afraid to because of the chipping and maybe a possible breakage. I am not proud of this one, but sure did learn a lot. It did also flew out when I was working on it, but somehow did not hurt it. Must of landed on the Ebony. At this point I want to polish it more and see what happens.............maybe........or just leave it alone and chalk it up as a learning experience. Another concern is the Ebony dryness, I had it wrapped in paper (as recommended) for a month. It was inch and half square by 10 inches. I hope it is dry enough.
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