# Ebony, Snakewood, and Cracking



## RussFairfield (Apr 20, 2006)

This was written as a message to Lou, but I am posting it here because there might be something of value for others. I am hoping that others will share their experiences with Ebony, Snakes, and cracks.

I was looking at Lou's Snakewood pen and how it was finished, and that started me thinking. That can be dangerous indeed.

A lot of people have a lot of problems with cracking in Ebony and Snakewood. While I have almost no experience with Snakewood, I have used a lot of Ebony, and cracking has never been a problem. 

I have always thought that one of the problems is that these very dense woods were being used at too high a moisture content. In an effort to sell wood, there is no time for adequate drying between harvesting their being placed on the store shelves.  I have been using "Ebony" that came with a shipment of lumber from Kenya in 1960, so it being too high a moisture content is not a problem.

Another problem might be the species. What was called Ebony in 1960 is now called African Blackwood, and the stuff being sold as Ebony (Gabon) was used for skids under pallets and shipping crates on the docks of East Africa at that time.

However, my supply of old Ebony has been running out and I have used a lot of the Gabon wood in the past few years. Cracking has been the exception rather than the rule, and I am still doing the same things that I have always done with Ebony, regardless of its source. 

I have been looking at what I do with the wood, to see if I do anything different. Here is a list of the thing that I do that might be different. 

First, I always cut my own pen blanks from lumber stock because I think this can be the location of the first cause of cracking later. I inspect the wood closely for hairline cracks before purchase. Using a little wooden mallet and checking it for sound, just like the instrument makers, is a good thing. This means no mail order wood. 

I cut the wood on a bandsaw, rather than a tablesaw. The thinner kerf causes less heat and stress in the wood.

Drill the wood with an oversized drill, and DO NOT let it get hot. Finger hot is 125F and anything over this is too hot. A sharp drill at 1200 RPM, and an air hose to blow out the chips frequently is what works for me. If the wood ever starts to get too hot to touch, I let it sit and return to room temperature.

The brass tubes are glued in with Polyurethane because the foaming glue gives 100% support to the wood, and it is spongy enough to allow for some wood movement. I think both are essential.

Now comes what I am thinking might be the most important part. After turning and rough sanding, I wet sand the wood using 1-K Kerosene as the lubricant. I think that one of the problems with cracking is that much of the essential oil in the wood is lost from the heat of sanding. Using the Kerosene makes sure that there is plenty of oil in the wood, and the residual insures that there is oil in the wood. I have even wiped the wood with Mineral Oil to make sure there is plenty of oil in the wood. 

Many penmakers advocate liberally wiping the wood with lacquer thinner to remove the oil before finishing, and I think this is the wrong direction to be going. When doing this, we are changing the nature of the wood by removing an essential ingredient of the wood, the oils, and then wondering why it cracks.

The oil in the wood means that not all finishes are suitable. Volatile solvent finishes, shellac and lacquer, are going in the wrong direction because we want to keep the oils in the wood, and not drive them out. Waterbornes won't stick to the wood because of the oils.

A bare wood finish that is polished to 12,000 Micro Mesh may be as good as it gets. A coat of wax as Lou did on his Snakewood pen with the TSW would be a good choice to add some gloss to the wood and protect it. Wax is a lubricant and may add something to the wood. At best, it does nothing to disturb the natural oils in the wood, and I think this is essential to the long term stability. 

An oil/varnish finish is about the best thing we can put on the wood. It isn't fast, but it isn't brittle, and it is a durable finish. Waterlox would be a good choice because it contains no polyurethane resins. Polyurethanes become too brittle with age, and that too is going in the wrong direction with a wood that is already brittle by itself. We should be using a more flexible finish. 

The oils in the wood insure that it will have a softer gloss, but it is better to sacrifice some of the gloss than have every pen crack within a year.

I hope there might be something in all of this that might be useful.


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## alamocdc (Apr 20, 2006)

Thanks, Russ! Sounds like great advice.


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## Skye (Apr 20, 2006)

Nice man, glad you decided to share!

I'm new, so by Kerosene, do you mean the stuff people light lanterns with? [:0]


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## KingBubbaTruck (Apr 20, 2006)

Excellent, I'm going to use this advice on my new snakewood blanks!


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## Jim Boyd (Apr 20, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Skye_
> <br />Nice man, glad you decided to share!
> 
> I'm new, so by Kerosene, do you mean the stuff people light lanterns with? [:0]



I use a match to light my kerosene lantern[][][][] Just kidding[] K-1 is the kerosene for the lanterns.


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## Dario (Apr 20, 2006)

Thanks Russ!!

How about other oil finish like Tung Oil?


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## Skye (Apr 20, 2006)

Man, I shoulda seen that coming! lol

I'm totaly in the dark (no pun intended) when it comes to kerosenes... I know what KY is, but never heard of K-1. []


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## Ron in Drums PA (Apr 20, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Dario_
> <br />Thanks Russ!!
> 
> How about other oil finish like Tung Oil?



Dario, Waterlox is mostly tung oil.


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## Ron in Drums PA (Apr 20, 2006)

Russ,
Waterlox is my favorite finish, I use it on all my bowls, HF and boxes,  but I've noticed with pens that were finished with waterlox that it may take a few months to fully cure.

Even after 3 months of drying, I find that when I write for a long time, the heat from my hand will make the finish feel "gummy"

Have you had this experience also?


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## Dario (Apr 20, 2006)

Thanks Ron, din't know Waterlox is tung oil [B)]...I do now []


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## RussFairfield (Apr 20, 2006)

Kerosene is kerosene, but the 1K is the clear stuff that is used in laterns and sold as a thinner in the paint dept, at Home Depot. It is also sold as BBQ fire starter in a smaller can at a higher price. 

The Waterlox can take a long time to cure, and it can get soft from prolonged exposure to abrasion, body oils, and sweat; but I have had that same thing happen with other finishes ater long term use, including the plastics used for some very expensive fountain pens.

The best finish on a pen might be nothing, and letting our body oils, sweat, and grime become the finish.


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## Rudy Vey (Apr 20, 2006)

I think Russ is right on! When I used Ebony, I always had cut it myself from boards or larger pieces and have only once or twice so far observed  blow-out when I forced the drilling too much. Last night I turned a pen from the free "letter"wood from Darick, and it turned out superbly well: absolutely smooth like glass. The pen has no finish, just a coat of TSW and I showed it around at work today and everyone was thinking that it was a plastic pen, not wood, so smooth it was. And, it has not cracked, yet. When I drilled the blanks halves, I first drilled with a very small bit a through hole. The I used successively larger bit until I got the proper opening for the Baron. I think I used four/five different bits and I was using my shop vac to continuously sucking out the chips and cooling the bit. The bit was always only hand-warm. The I carefully turned the two halves, using freshly sharpened gouges and skews. I finished the sanding with sanding up to 2000 grit - no, I did not use MM - just sanding paper, also here very careful and going with a light hand, so the wood did not warm up more than the described hand-warm.
I did not wipe down the blank with anything else than a dry piece of old t-shirt material - no DNA, paint thinner or else. No friction polish, Enduro or CA - just a light coat of TSW.

Anyways, I am a proponent of the natural feel and touch of wood, so CA is not a finish of choice for me. I totally agree with Russ to leave wood "unfinished", since oils from your hand over time will give the pen a nice patina. But, I must say that I just started some 6 weeks ago to use the Enduro, and, so far, like the feel of it - I will use it on certain woods only (like the Irish Bog Oak, and other woods that are a bit on the coarser side).


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## DCBluesman (Apr 20, 2006)

Thanks, Russ!  From me and from the rest of the pen making community. [8D]


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## rfreeouf (Apr 20, 2006)

Russ thanks for sharing it is much appreciated!


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## Rochester (Apr 20, 2006)

Thanks Russ.  As someone who is still trying to find what works I really am thankful for your advice.  You are able to describe your techniques in a way that is easy to follow and makes sense.  The real beauty of this site is the willingness of those with experience to share with everyone.  It's the only way we can all learn.


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## Jim15 (Apr 20, 2006)

Russ, thanks for the info and taking time to post it here.

jim


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## Skye (Apr 21, 2006)

> _Originally posted by RussFairfield_
> <br />Kerosene is kerosene, but the 1K is the clear stuff that is used in laterns and sold as a thinner in the paint dept, at Home Depot. It is also sold as BBQ fire starter in a smaller can at a higher price.



Cool man, got it!


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## Rifleman1776 (Apr 21, 2006)

Thanks Russ, your experience is valuable. But, for me, to keep advice short, I just don't use ebony. Good quality ebony often comes from South Africa also. A supplier in St. Louis gets it from there. His comes 'wet' coated in wax. I once negotiated with a SA cutter/supplier for a pallet of ebony but decided not to complete the deal. The wood was going to be cut only after I ordered, meaning very 'green' and 'wet' (and extra heavy), then coated with wax and air freighted. I don't have forty years to sit and wait for it to naturally dry and the cost of the air freight more than doubled the cost of the wood making my venture a profit loser from git go. When I want black, I use African Blackwood and have had luck with it. Nice to turn and nice to look at.


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## byounghusband (Apr 21, 2006)

Skye wrote:


> .....I know what KY is,....



That would be Kentucky Jelly, right??[}][]


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## jdavis (Apr 24, 2006)

Thanks for the info


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## OSCAR15 (May 3, 2006)

Thanks for the info..Also, I prefer natural finishing to CA etc. Wood should feel like wood, otherwise turn acrylics instead!


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## Paul Downes (May 5, 2006)

Russ, When I first started using snakewood I cracked a few blanks when drilling them out. I have since been dripping water in the hole while drilling and have not had a failure yet. When I can, I use a bullet point drill. I wish one could get those drills in any size. I think the cracking failures were caused by the heat and side pressure of the chips in the drill flute. When you use water the blanks remain relatively cool and the chips come out much eaiser and resemble 'mud'. Because I also use poly glue, a little water in the hole just helps it set up. I think because these dense woods are, well, dense, the chips do not compress much and can build up side pressure quickly. I back the drill out every 1/4-3/8 inch when drilling. I haven't turned any ebony yet, but it is on my adgenda.


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## Paul Downes (May 8, 2006)

I just drilled out 5 snakewood blanks and realized my previous post was not quite accurate. I back the drill out every 1/16- 1/8 " rather than 1/4 or more. I also flood the hole with water. I always have a backer board so that when the drill goes through the bottom of the blank it is still in wood, rather than hanging in space. I also made a blank holder that is just taller than the blank so that there is light pressure on the entire blank rather than having the blank sticking up above the holder. Another thing occured to me. I have been sanding the corners of the blank down before end milling the blank because as the mill flute cuts across the diagonal width of the blank it generates more side pressure because it is cutting the widest part of the end of the blank. I have had a few blanks catch and blow out a corner of the blank before  I switched to sanding to round out the blank first. I hope this isn't confusing....


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