Cracked ebony

J

josie

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
In the past I have had ebony crack on me after turning it down some. It had not happened in a while until today when I noticed some ebony that I turned down recently had cracked. I turned these pieces about .040". Most of it has waxed ends which tells me it is air dried. I can't remember if any of it was kiln dried. How can stop this from happening? Does kiln dried do the same thing? This is the only wood it has happened to. IF anyone has a good source for kiln dried ebony I would be interested in that as well.


Thanks,

Eric
 
Ebony is seldom kiln dried, especially by any of the larger importers and second tier retailers. The loss due to cracking and checking is too high if not done properly and they would rather the wood cracked when you own it instead of when they still own it.
I try and make sure that any Ebony I use is over 6-7 years old, giving it plenty of time to dry out and stabilize. The inlay slabs I just cut are from cants over 10 years old. Unless you know who imported the wood and when you may not know just how old it is.

Bob Danielson
www.bdcuesandcomix.com
 
My theory on cracking wood is the outside is shrinking faster and has nowhere to shrink.
I turn Ebony round and reseal the day I get it. After it's turned round I drill a 3/8" hole threw the center and don't seal that hole. The hole lets the wood dry/shrink from the inside out and stops cracking.
If you don't drill you need to slow the drying process as much as possible so the piece dries evenly. This takes many years. Drilling cuts the dry time in half.

I've used this drill and age technique on Ebony, Olive, Snakewood, Tulip, and all my burls.
 
Hi,

I agree with the crack due to the shrink factor. I core my seasoned ebony and let it hang again. If it is not cracked when I core, it never cracks after the fact.

Rick
 
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Resealing after each turn is very important, especially if you are unable to drill out the center as Scott mentioned. Also important is where you store it. If it's a really dry climate, it will want to dry faster than in a more humid climate. I know that some people will weigh it and store their newly acquire stock down low to the ground until it looses some weight, and reweigh it, and then move it up a shelf, and repeat this on a regular schedule until it's at the top. Dampness falls, drier air rises. Keeping the wood lower can slow down the drying process.
Dave
 
Graciocues said:
My theory on cracking wood is the outside is shrinking faster and has nowhere to shrink.
I turn Ebony round and reseal the day I get it. After it's turned round I drill a 3/8" hole threw the center and don't seal that hole. The hole lets the wood dry/shrink from the inside out and stops cracking.
If you don't drill you need to slow the drying process as much as possible so the piece dries evenly. This takes many years. Drilling cuts the dry time in half.

I've used this drill and age technique on Ebony, Olive, Snakewood, Tulip, and all my burls.
Click to expand...

tap tap tap !
 
Graciocues said:
My theory on cracking wood is the outside is shrinking faster and has nowhere to shrink.
I turn Ebony round and reseal the day I get it. After it's turned round I drill a 3/8" hole threw the center and don't seal that hole. The hole lets the wood dry/shrink from the inside out and stops cracking.
If you don't drill you need to slow the drying process as much as possible so the piece dries evenly. This takes many years. Drilling cuts the dry time in half.

I've used this drill and age technique on Ebony, Olive, Snakewood, Tulip, and all my burls.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the help everyone. What do you seal the ebony with? I know someone mentioned super glue earlier as a sealer. Anything else?
 
Any thing that seals open grain and dries quickly. I tend to use just straight up shellac or else a laquer based grain sealer from Woodcraft. You can pour the shellac on it as it turns and remove it from the lathe minutes later, and then put it aside.
Dave
 
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