I'm wondering if it is posible to bend a piece of ebony? The piece would be about 10 inches long and 1/4 inch square. I want to bend it into the shape of a "S".
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Bending Ebony
- Thread starter Leroy Moldenhauer
- Start date
I am a fan of ebony. I like the way is turns, holds detail, sands, accepts finish and of course the color. But I don't think I would ever try to bend it. I am not a fan of "ebonizing" but in the case of bending "ebonizing" would appear to be a good design option.
It is possible but not easy. There is a fair amount of spring back. It might work better to do thinner pieces and laminate them, especially with the compound curve, it will hold its form better. I have had a lot of success with microwave steaming for objects that size.
It's probably not cost effective to buy a larger piece and cut the curve?
It's probably not cost effective to buy a larger piece and cut the curve?
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
I've bent a fair number of woods but never ebony or for that matter I don't know if I done any exotics. Bending an S curve out of 10" can be challenging with the best of woods. You might have to use bending straps on the outside of the curves to keep them from splitting out.
I think bent lamination would be the way to go. Cut it into thin veneer size strips and then glue them together around a form. 16th inch strips might bend that much but with ebony I'm not even sure about that.
The best solution would be to use Comp wood. It will bend that much quite easily but you'll have to dye it to get it black. The minimum order might be a problem but it is really good stuff.
http://www.compwood-products.com/index.php
I think bent lamination would be the way to go. Cut it into thin veneer size strips and then glue them together around a form. 16th inch strips might bend that much but with ebony I'm not even sure about that.
The best solution would be to use Comp wood. It will bend that much quite easily but you'll have to dye it to get it black. The minimum order might be a problem but it is really good stuff.
http://www.compwood-products.com/index.php
I have to agree with John on this, ebonizing Comp wood is the way to go. I just bought some, and it works great! You can get a perfect bend with no spring back. Best way to order is to get the sample pack and have a few club members go in on the purchase with you and divide it up.
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Ebony just loves to splinter, so trying to bend it is not likely to be successful unless you cut very thin laminations no more than about 1/32 inch. Even then, you won't be able to bend it much. It is essentially impervious to water so soaking it to make it more pliable would be a waste of time.
I know you have your reason. On something that small why not use a wider piece and cut you S shape out on a scroll saw.
I've been taught it's the heat, not the moisture, that softens the lignan to enable bending wood. Chair builders sometimes use a heat gun to make corrective bends on spindles.
George
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It is moisture that can soften lignum, but using heat in combination with either moisture externally added (as in steam bending) or if adequate moisture already exists (in the case of partially dried wood that still has an adequate amount of moisture) will greatly enhance to ability to bend the wood. Lignum, like a lot of things that may not be particularly soluble in cold water are much more soluble in water that has been heated to near boiling. If you had a piece of wood that was "bone dry" (meaning zero moisture content), heat alone would do nothing to make it more pliable.
Bill,
If you're going to use bold type to emphasize that I misspelled a word (which I did) it would probably more effective if you spelled it correctly yourself.
The correct spelling is lignin.
My point was the fact that Ebony is "essentially impervious to water" is immaterial. Certainly it must have adequate internal moisture to be bent, but it is primarily heat that softens the lignin, not additional moisture. Why else would we use hot water or steam instead of cold water to bend wood?
George
If you're going to use bold type to emphasize that I misspelled a word (which I did) it would probably more effective if you spelled it correctly yourself.
The correct spelling is lignin.My point was the fact that Ebony is "essentially impervious to water" is immaterial. Certainly it must have adequate internal moisture to be bent, but it is primarily heat that softens the lignin, not additional moisture. Why else would we use hot water or steam instead of cold water to bend wood?
George