Ebony and Pens

[LockeCole81]

Hi guys, thought this might be a great place to ask about a problem I ran into.

A few months back I turned a few pen kits I had bought at woodcraft.
Used some wood my grandpa had in his shop for a few of them, and a few I bought blanks at woodcraft.

I made 2 ebony pens from blanks I bought there. Been using mine a fair bit, and hadn't used it lately, picked it up tonight and noticed it's developed cracks in the body and the lid. Checks going from the end where the metal is inserted towards the center of the wood.

So I was wondering, any ideas what I did wrong?
Was it possibly not dry enough?
We've gone two months no rain, but they've been kept here in doors in my bedroom.
Just really kind of peeved me to see that my pen and the one I made my girlfriend (as well as the wenge one) I did have all cracked where as the cocobolo, bubinga, purpleheart, and moradillo ones are all fine. (oil content perhaps?)

Used a mylands turner's finish on them, so had thought they'd be okay.
Would it be better in the future to soak them in linseed oil for a few weeks?

Ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.
Bummed that they cracked *sighs*

Thanks

Thinking at some point I'll just redo them as I can just get new blanks, cut and clean the old barrels and redo it.

 

[underdog]

Some folks use Cyanoacrylate (Super glue) to finish their pens. It's got a much better "feel" than other finishes. I also suspect it would help prevent cracking since you almost soak them in it...

I suspect that the wood you're talking about is actually susceptible to cracking anyway. If you have overheated them at all when turning them they may have developed hairline cracks. Being dry would exacerbate this problem and the cracks would then open up. The fact that your "oilier" woods don't exhibit this problem seems to confirm this. Their moisture (oil) content has prevented them drying up.

I would think that if you upped the moisture content (water?) in the pens so that the cracks closed up a bit, then used your super glue to coat them and finish sand, I bet it would fix the problem. Cyanoacrylate is cured by moisture (water) anyway.... That's why it bonds so quickly to your skin... 😱 I believe it was developed to close wounds anyway.

Of course this is all theory. I have no experience whatsoever with pens, or the wood you're talking about.

Perhaps an expert could chime in here and tell us if I'm correct or not.

 

[S. Clark]

Join the Crowd

Ebony pens are notorious for cracking. I’ve had it happen too. Here’s what I’ve found helps avoid it.

1) When drilling, avoid overheating the wood. This means you have to drill a little way then stop for a minute and let the bit cool, then drill a little more. Heat stress in the wood will show up as cracks later. I haven’t found any one style bit that is better than another for this.

2) Oversize the holes beyond what the kit calls for; just a fraction mind you. Get a bit sizing chart and use it to determine the next size bit. Hut has a free chart in their catalog. I’m not saying to use an 8mm bit if a 7mm is required. Look at the chart and go to the next fractional bit or machinist’s bit (letter) size above the 7mm. Test it on a scrap.

3) Glue the tubes with a poly type glue like Gorilla or NP1. Polyurethane glue has a little resilience to it and this help at the micro-thin joint layer between the tube and the wood. This glue expands a little as it dries and it will automatically center the tube in the oversized hole. It also absorbs expansions and contraction better than CA. CA creates heat as is cures and I’m not sure if that was a contributor to the problem too?

4) Before turning and DEFINITELY before assembly, ream the inside ends of the brass with a reaming bit. You know, the multi-fluted bit used to countersink holes in metalworking. This gives a little freedom for the bushings and the pen parts when they are pressed in. Otherwise the expanding brass is adding pressure to the wood. This is also where the flex in the poly glue helps. You ream by hand. Twist the bit with you fingers. No power drill is necessary.

5) Take light cut when turning the barrels. Avoid excessive pressure, vibration, and heating of the blanks. This all adds stress in the wood.

6) When finishing, avoid excess heat. I usually burnish my pens in such a way that I feel heat through the rag. DON’T DO THIS WITH EBONY! I don’t prefer a CA finish on hard, dense woods. I only use it on wood that’ll absorb the glue. A lacquer base or shellac base finish works fine, especially if you buff the barrels with a wheel; like the Beall system. It is easier to get an even shine and yet retain the woody feel. If you want a plastic pen then use acrylic blanks or stabilized wood.

I hope this helps - Scott

 

[LockeCole81]

Thanks for the info

Don't know if I heated the wood a fair bit or not when I was drilling,it's quite possible so I'll keep that in mind. Planning on redoing them, might give me something to do next week after I finish up the handle on the knife I'm making.

I know what you mean concerning the bit sizes, I'll see if I can find a chart and see if I have an appropriate bit size. What would you suggest to do if I don't as I've not made a bunch of pens, only a few as trinkets? Find the closest thing I can and use it? We've got some Gorilla glue and some Poly by Elmers that we use has a blue bull on it. I'll use that next time as well. Had used epoxy which maybe wasn't the best idea since it probably has very little give, 5 minute variety as well which is a bit stiffer than the 2 hour or longer kind.

Was also curious if maybe the wood wasn't fully seasoned, had bought it in one of those plastic bags that have about 10 blanks in it. Not sure how many I have left, expensive mistakes eh?

I'm not familiar with a reaming bit, I'll do a search and see if I can see what it looks like, then I can see if my grandfather has one in his shop somewhere, as I use his shop.

For cutting these I'm fairly certain they were some of the ones I used a skew chisel on so was pretty small and clean cuts. I'll keep the suggestions in mind though of course.

I did the same thing about the heat through rag, used an old sweatshirt, poured on some of the turners finish, and wipe it on, turn it on and burnish it as it gets hot. Sounds like it might be a better idea to put it on a low speed, and lay a towel along the bed, and use some of the spray laquer we have, or use our rotisserie accessorie that grandpa fashioned up for finishing at a much slower rotation speed.

Have to write these down so I'll have the notes on hand.
Have to give it a try and see what happens this time.

Going to ask a friend who bought a pen how his is holding up, If it's bad I'm gonna ask him to send me it back to fix.


I read that blackwood is oilier than ebony, so less prone to cracking. Do you have any experience with it? Might be a good alternative.


Having trouble finding a picture of a reaming bit, grandpa has this real large drill bit that he uses for countersinking quite often, could that be used? Any other suggestions?

 

[Bill Boehme]

I agree with Scott Clark. My very limited experience with ebony is that it will split if you look at it cross-eyed. One more thing to watch out for is a dull drill bit, which can easily overheat in a hard dry wood like ebony. Anything less than like-new sharpness is not good enough.



Bill

 

[Fred in NC]

I also agree with Scott. Blackwood is much better for pens. I have only made a few ebony pens, and they held up well so far. My comments:

1. I use MinWax PolyCrylic on ebony. Does not produce any heat.

2. My glue is 5 Min epoxy. The one I use remains somewhat flexible.

3. A drill bit can be used as a reamer, if it is the right size. I have a .246 drill bit, which is a letter size "D", with a turned and epoxied handle. Some 1/4" drills are also a bit undersized, and will fit 7mm tubes. If you cannot find one, chuck a cheap 1/4" bit on the lathe or drill press, and CAREFULLY reduce the diameter a bit with some emery paper.

4. Be careful when pressing in the metal parts. Make sure they go in straight.

5. If using ebony, make sure the wood is not too thin.

6. Watch out for sanding heat.

7. If possible, use ebony pens for display only, in a climate controlled case.
Use a high security lock on the case.

 

[LockeCole81]

....

Was thinking about using some of the laquer I usually use on other projects this time around as I'm sure it would add a bit more protection. Usually use DEft, but I believe we have some Polycrylic, as well as regular Poly that could be used.

5 min we use is a good brand, it's only one we tend to use, Devcon. Looked up the brand right quick. Might be worth trying the urethane though.

The style of pen was the american classic that woodcraft has, and was just doing a plain parallel surface to it. I think the suggest about oversizing the hole a bit would definitely help.

I think in the future I might go with blackwood instead, as it sounds like it might be a better black wood to use. Was wanting the black and gold. Another idea might even be using maple/walnut and ebonizing it, then sealing with poly or laquer.

 

[underdog]

Oak ebonizes pretty well with a vinegar and steel wool mixture. I don't know the formula, but a guy in our club does it. Of course I asked him if he was using Red or White Oak and he didn't know...

 

[Tom Lewis]

From my experience with using ebony on knife handles I would say the #1 reason for ebony spliting is lack of seasoning. I have some ebony that sat in my shop for 20+ years before I used it. I never had a problem with it.

 

[LockeCole81]

*nods* I used it after buying it from the store (woodcraft) so that could very well be the problem.

Trying to decide if I should rework them in ebony again or get some blackwood.

 

[Vernon Oberle]

Is it real or memorex?

I have made several pens with ebony and if you get a real nice gloss on them everyone wants to know how you made those plastic pens. I made a ebony lip for an osage orange vessel. I left a small flaw in it just to prove it was wood. Heat is your biggest enemy, but the stuff has a mind of it's own.

Vernon

 

[Angelo]

Seasoning

I agree with Tom. Lack of seasoning and the tendency for Ebony to heat check is at the root of the problem. I have found that by using a "softer" glue I have less problems. Even with Snakewood. I use polyurethane glue exclusively when gluing in the tubes. It's messy, but I prepare for the mess by covering table tops and wearing surgical gloves. I glue up a boat load of blanks at one time thereby avoiding doing it on as one-sies and two-sies.

I usually buy the spare tubes for the kits so I can use the tubes for glue up and replace them when I buy the kit.....(a tip from Brad Short in Ohio) therefore I have the blanks to turn and buy the kits only when I need the pen to sell.

A

 

[Matt Meadows]

Oak ebonizes pretty well with a vinegar and steel wool mixture. I don't know the formula, but a guy in our club does it. Of course I asked him if he was using Red or White Oak and he didn't know...

Red oak will do it for sure. Just mix up a half a cup of vinegar and plop in a wad of steel wool, don't fret over mixture. Once it's stewed itself for a while (I usually give at a few days or so), wipe some on some scrap oak and let it dry for a few minutes to an hour. Should be nice and black.

 

[S. Clark]

Reamer Bit

Here's what I was talking about. I made a handle which I mounted an old 3/8" drill chuck to so I can use it for hand twisting the reamer or any other bit. They sell a reamer already mounted in a handle if you want to do it that way.

Oh, by the way, I've never used African Blackwood so I can't comment. It could be too that the little blanks you purchased were already heat checked before they were packaged. I've suspected this with small pieces I've purchased in the past. They may have been checked when they were resawn to the small size. I think a small South Aerican mill is probably sizing these scraps for sale so who's to say?

 

[S. Clark]

Reamer with Handle

Here's a reamer which comes with an attached handle.

 

[LockeCole81]

=]

Well I might take the pens with me tomorrow as to grandpa's shop I go, and might work on a redo.

Think I'll go with the polycrylic or Deft for a finish, put on a few coats.
Refrain from excessive heat, and use the urethane blue.

Hrm, as for the reaming bit, I seem to recall maybe seeing one of those somewhere. I'll have to look and see if I can find it.

I think I've seen what the reaming does as I was given a pen at work someone left behind to use, and I think it's hand made, can see the glue down the end of the tube and such, but you can see where the brass tube has sort of been tapered on the inside, I'm thinking that's what the reaming tool does.

I'll give that a try as well.
Hopefully I'll have better luck this time. If not then perhaps Blackwood might be the next best thing, or like was said, ebonized oak or walnut, or something to that effect =P

One of the guys in a book my grandpa has on turning uses the steel wool on walnut veneer to make ebonized banding on turnings.