Waxed wood squares

J

JerseyBill

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Can someone tell me what to do with ebony for example if it comes in a 12inch square say 1 1/2 inches and has wax on it/? I want to cut off the corners on a band saw and save for inlays. But the wax won't adhere to glue. Hence would you suggest sanding it off or what? The wood is Kiln dried even though it's waxed, but I don't know why they wax it then. Should I just waste the wood and cut inlays from a whole piece?
Bill
 
I scrape as much wax off as possible with a putty knife and then plane it to get the rest of it off. I would reseal it with a wood sealer if the whole piece isnt being used at once.
 
JerseyBill said:
Can someone tell me what to do with ebony for example if it comes in a 12inch square say 1 1/2 inches and has wax on it/? I want to cut off the corners on a band saw and save for inlays. But the wax won't adhere to glue. Hence would you suggest sanding it off or what? The wood is Kiln dried even though it's waxed, but I don't know why they wax it then. Should I just waste the wood and cut inlays from a whole piece?
Bill
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Most ebony is not kiln dried. I have some that I bought about 12 years ago that was supposed to have been air dried for over 25 years when I got it. It will still check if I cut it without sealing the end grain. At least it did a few years back when I last cut up turning squares. This was about the size of a railroad tie when I got it, maybe a bit larger.

As a side note, when I last visited Gus' shop he showed me his stash of ebony he had stored under the basement steps. I'll bet Barry is still working out of that supply! When you find good black gabon ebony, buy all you can afford and store/air-dry it for the rest of your career. When I go, my boys are going to have a bunch of great wood to dispose of. I know I have enough stored/air-dried to build 500-1000 cues and havent bought or sold any for several years. Watch for the auction guys! lol
 
An outfit I buy wood from does the same thing. They wax everything they send out, even if it's kiln dried. They're reasoning is that it ensures the wood arrives exactly as they shipped it and it's up to me to keep it in good shape. Makes sense, but costs them a lot of business.

I run my waxed stuff over a jointer to remove wax & get the wood true square.
 
wax solution

THanks, guys,
I kinda figured that I should plane it, I have a joiner and planer and band saw, I was told by someone else not to do it. He's a junior cuemaker so I should have realized my instincts were correct. As I still don't have a hygrometer I'm not sure of the moisture content. It's supposed to be under 8 percent so I'm told, but you know how that is.
I really appreciate all the responses.
Bill
 
Ebony is easy wood to check if you have a meter as the holes won't show later. I run non round wood through a joiner which both cleans and squares. The best, safest way to be sure you are using dry wood is to weigh it when it comes in and then way it about ever 3 months until it stops losing weight. It is then at the same moisture content as the air in your shop.

Dick
 
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JerseyBill said:
Joey,
What should the content be, other than dry I mean. How much did it cost for you to buy the tester?/ hygrometer I think.
thanks, Bill
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6-8% would be dry.
Over 10%, I wouldn't cut. Let it sit, and as Dick said , weigh it and let sit.
Delmhorst meters go for around $175 or so these days I think.
 
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Junior Cuemaker Vs Senior Cuemaker

JerseyBill said:
THanks, guys,
I kinda figured that I should plane it, I have a joiner and planer and band saw, I was told by someone else not to do it. He's a junior cuemaker so I should have realized my instincts were correct. As I still don't have a hygrometer I'm not sure of the moisture content. It's supposed to be under 8 percent so I'm told, but you know how that is.
I really appreciate all the responses.
Bill
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I want to correct or explain what I meant by a Junior Cuemaker.
My friend , who makes beautiful , tight cues. Has made under a hundred cues. I was reading one of those cue association requirement sheets and I thought some of you guys making cues for 20 years would be senior cuemakers and someone who made much less would be Junior. No reflection on his work, as I am below a junior cuemaker right now. I was talking quantity not quality and I don't want to lose a friend over that if I mispoke.

Does anyone recommend a great inexpensive moisture meter? A couple of guys sent me the names of a couple. One was at Harbor Freight, the other was about 200 bucks and checks from about 2 to 22% I'm not sure if there is a fluctuation range or Q.C. plus or minus. Can I hear from someone on this subject.? Also I hear some people say they core almost green wood. Is that a bad idea? I did buy Chris's book/ and videos, so if I seem to be ignorant it's because I played pool all my life. lol
Bill
 
wood losing weight

rhncue said:
Ebony is easy wood to check if you have a meter as the holes won't show later. I run non round wood through a joiner which both cleans and squares. The best, safest way to be sure you are using dry wood is to weigh it when it comes in and then way it about ever 3 months until it stops losing weight. It is then at the same moisture content as the air in your shop.

Dick
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Dick,
Thanks, and how would you handle a bunch of old wood , rosewood ebony,etc.a friend gave me that is about 15 years old and was in his basement. His basement is dry and controlled in fact it's remarkable.I guess I need a moisture detector/hygrometer for those pieces?
Bill
 
JoeyInCali said:
6-8% would be dry.
Over 10%, I wouldn't cut. Let it sit, and as Dick said , weigh it and let sit.
Delmhorst meters go for around $175 or so these days I think.
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6-8% is a bit idealistic. That's the moisture content of wood when it comes out of the kiln. Once it comes out of the kiln, it starts to take-on moisture again.
The humidity of the area where the wood is now kept will determine where the wood's H2O level stabilizes. The wood will never stay at 6-8% (unless your shop is outdoors in the desert) as it will try to equalize with the air surrounding it. It will never do that either because the wood is much denser than air and can't 'breathe' as fast as the speed at which the humidity in your shop changes. It will eventually reach a 'happy medium' where it's H2O levels of change are unnoticeable. The wood has now become acclimated to it's surroundings.
The wood has become stable and can now be worked.

Dick's method of weighing the wood periodically has good merit. When it's wght. stops fluctuating, the wood has stabilized 'to it's surroundings'. It's almost irrelevant what it's H2O content is at this point. It's stopped moving in YOUR environment.

So you proceed to build the cue with arguably stable wood, and if the cue is sold locally, it shouldn't have any moisture content issues. That's all well & good but what if the cue is sold to a client elsewhere in the world where the humidity is markedly different? Well, guess what? The wood will start breathing again and either take-on or give-up moisture. This is where the fun begins.
You may have done everything correctly in your wood selection, drying, stabilizing and building yet it is still possible that this cue could move. It's new home may be of a much different humidity than where it was built.
Prime example would be SW cues. They are built in Vegas where it is very dry. Almost without exception, when these cues go to Taiwan, they move. If and when the cue comes back to the States, they straighten-up again. Going the other way, cues built in the Philippines and coming to the States have a tendency to move for the same reason. The wood wants to stabilize to it's surroundings.

I've bought quite a bit of BEM from the U.P. of Michigan. I have no doubt that when the wood came out of the kiln, it was indeed 6-8% H2O content.
After 2 weeks to a month in my shop, the wood is 12-14% H2O. Go figure.
 
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I've bought quite a bit of BEM from the U.P. of Michigan. I have no doubt that when the wood came out of the kiln, it was indeed 6-8% H2O content.
After 2 weeks to a month in my shop, the wood is 12-14% H2O. Go figure.
Must be near a swamp in Florida. :-)
 
No, not exactly a swamp.
My shop is located on some property I own by Lake George, Fremont, Indiana.
The shop is not exactly air tight either.
I can see where you'd be a little drier out there in Cali., but that's just the point. The humidity is going to be different wherever you are.
 
KJ Cues said:
No, not exactly a swamp.
My shop is located on some property I own by Lake George, Fremont, Indiana.
The shop is not exactly air tight either.
I can see where you'd be a little drier out there in Cali., but that's just the point. The humidity is going to be different wherever you are.
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It hovers around 35-50% most of the time here.
I don't cut shafts when it's under 40 or over 60.
 
JoeyInCali said:
It hovers around 35-50% most of the time here.
I don't cut shafts when it's under 40 or over 60.
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FWIW, the humidity in my shop hovers around 40-50%. In the winter it will drop somewhat from that. We're in our rain season and even though we're not getting much, humidity is closer to 50% in the bldg.
Summers tend to dry us out. The seasoning continues.

Joey, just wondering. Does the moon have to be in a certain phase or any particular star alignment before you'll cut shafts? :rotflmao1:
 
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