Pore Filler for ebony

[barclayjoan]

I'm making some ebony chopsticks (an unfortunately late commission) and am finding the ebony just riddled, stricken, with pores. They look like long, thin, densely packed, shallow scratches, up to 1/2". This ebony is admittedly quite old, it is recycled fretboard. I've tried instant glue, even to the point of dipping a chopstick in the glue, only to have most of the openings reappear after the glue has set up. A long line of tiny bubbles lines the emerged crack. Sanding that back and re-dipping, I end up with the same problem, though there are (perhaps) fewer cracks/pores this time. I'm using the Starbond Very Thin material and it seems to be either not entering or pulling out. I've used instant glues A LOT in turning and didn't expect this. I'm a bit stumped, here. Most of my turnings are sanded to 1200, oiled, reoiled, then carnuba waxed so I've not much experience with pore fillers etc. Does anyone have any thoughts?

 

[pfduffy]

Ebony filler

One thought is to mix epoxy with a black ink dye and cover the sticks. The epoxy will cure much slower than normal so you may need to think about the way fishing poles are cured - - constant rotation at very slow speed. I have done similar dying of expoxy and caution that the slow cure is very slow - -triple the time for 5min. expoxy. Good luck.

 

[Mark Mandell]

Ebony

Part of your problem may be the oil content in the wood which will act to prevent the finish or filler from sticking. You should scrub the stick with a brush with acetone, wipe with lint-free cloth, then apply a filler right away.

You can get black CA which will set quickly as opposed to a long-set epoxy, or if you go with epoxy, use the 30 minute set (NEVER the 5-Min. stuff), and use either lamp-black powder or black epoxy tinting paste rather than ink to avoid messing up the set time. Epoxy will not reach its full cure and bond for about 24 hours, so don't push the sanding phase to remove the excess.

 

[Steve Worcester]

The problem you may encouter here is that if used, they may eat some of the CA glue or epoxy.

 

[Fred in NC]

Finish for ebony

I have made some pens out of ebony. My usual procedure is to wipe with alcohol or acetone after sanding to 400, to remove surface oils. Then 1 coat of blonde shellac, resand, and another coat of shellac. I continue sanding with 600, 1000, 1500, and 2000.

The top coat is MinWax PolyCrylic GLOSS, which does not have any fillers. I put on at least 4 coats, alternating a coat with the lathe spinning, and a coat applied lengthwise with the spindle stopped. I let the PolyCrylic set for 15-20 mins between coats. The applicator is a small pad of lintless wipe, and I only use ONE generous drop on the pad, using a fresh pad each time. After the piece is covered with a thin coat of poly, STOP! and let it set before putting on the next coat.

The finish is not only very smooth and shiny, but also very durable.