On 9 Nov, 02:59, RubEric <[email protected]> wrote:
> I have a project that involves gluing ebony to maple.
> What glue should I use??
Ebony is dense, impermeable and very slightly oily (nothing like
teak). Most glues will work, but don't rely on something that needs a
permeable surface. I'd be slightly suspicious of neat PVA, but the
yellow aliphatics are fine. Personally I use hide glue, same as most
other decorative inlay work. Certainly most "modern" (i.e. anything
non water-based) glues work fine: cyano, rubber contacts, epoxy.
> Any tips?
Ebony is hard and brittle. Brittleness varies, but some can be _very_
brittle. Old, long-dried ebony is very brittle.
It's also endangered and near impossible to obtain. Most new "ebony"
you can buy isn't true ebony anyway, it's one of the blackwoods (which
we haven't managed to endanger yet, but we're working on it). These
are less brittle, pretty good timber, but the sapwood is pale brown
and you usually can't use the whole blank.
I only use old recycled ebony, and only in small pieces for
decoration. Most of it is from damaged clarinets (I was given a boxful
by an instrument shop when they moved).
> I need to bend 1/4 inch thick ebony to about a 30 inch radius.
Nice easy radius, but 1/4" is thicker ebony than I'd ever expect to
have success with bending.
> How well does ebony bend? Should I steam it?? Any tips on steaming/
It doesn't! Too impermeable to get steam into it and steaming anything
thicker than veneer just isn't going to happen.
I'd consider laminating your ebony to get 1/4" instead. Personally I'd
probably use ebonised maple (or sycamore, locally) instead. That will
bend well, ebonises nicely, and a good piece of hard maple gives a
smooth surface that's hard to distinguish from ebony at this size.
On Nov 9, 6:15 am, Andy Dingley <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I'd consider laminating your ebony to get 1/4" instead. Personally I'd
> probably use ebonised maple (or sycamore, locally) instead. That will
> bend well, ebonises nicely, and a good piece of hard maple gives a
> smooth surface that's hard to distinguish from ebony at this size.
Can you provide a Reader's Digest version of ebonizing maple?
Jeff
On Fri, 09 Nov 2007 11:19:24 -0800, Jeff <[email protected]> wrote:
>Can you provide a Reader's Digest version of ebonizing maple?
The wood looks black from a distance, but if you stare closely enough at
it, you'll see that it's really Red underneath.
RubEric <[email protected]> wrote in news:1194577157.294505.29320
@s15g2000prm.googlegroups.com:
> I have a project that involves gluing ebony to maple.
> What glue should I use?? Any tips?
>
I've used CA ("super glue") with good results on ebony. Sometimes what's
needed is to put a thin coat of glue on the ebony and let this dry before
doing the actual glue-up. A light sanding on the dried glue helps too
(don't sand through the glue!).
On Fri, 09 Nov 2007 11:19:24 -0800, Jeff <[email protected]> wrote:
>Can you provide a Reader's Digest version of ebonizing maple?
Search the archives for a recipe based on vinegar and steel wool. Works
great on tannin-rich timbers like oak or chestnut, but maple might need
a pre-treatment with tannins first. It's all standard stuff and
searchable for.