In using ebony as an inlay against some birdseye maple veneer, I noticed as I sanded the inlay, the BE maple developed dark smudges. I assumed I could just vacuum the ebony sawdust from the BE, but it still left; what appeared to be a smudges.
Any help would be appreciated as to preventative measures for future reference and more importantly, how do I eliminate the smudgey appearance in the current project.
Thanks, Dave
Replies
Dave,
I scrape the inlays flush. With a sharp scraper there won't be much sanding necessary. What sanding that is necessary is best done with a random orbit sander hooked up to a shop vac. Don't use anything more coarse than 220 grit and finish with 320 grit. I'm sure there will be some that say this will leave swirl marks, but that has not been my experience ( for what is worth, I'm a fanatic about having top quality finishes, so I'd be aware of the swirl marks if they were there).
Rob Millard
http://www.americanfederalperiod.com
Thanks for the advice Rob. I did a little scraping, and got most of the ebony out of the BE maple, but there was still some. I have never experienced this before. Maybe this always happens anytime you sand two different woods when they're butted together, but with most wood colors being in the same hue area it's not noticed. With the sharp contrast between maple and ebony, it really showed up.Dave
Dave,
I've not really had too much of a problem with real ebony, but I do get some color contamination when using black dyed veneer. The worst problem I have is with rosewood inlays.
Rob Millard
Ditto the RA/swirl marks bit as well as the grit selection. That's been my experience as well and like you I'm a bit of a fanatic about the quality of my finishes.
The urban legend about random orbit sanders leaving swirl marks is a cannard, IMO. The only time I've ever seen an RA leave swirl marks with 220 or finer is if there is a crease or a tear in the paper. As long as the paper is in good shape and is of good quality (i.e., uniform grit size) then it won't leave swirl marks. Torn, wrinkled or creased sanding discs should be tossed immediately.
I have problems with this with quilted maple, but not really with birdseye. It's worse in higher humidity conditions. The main solution is to blow out with very high pressure from air compressor. If there's any stain left, soak forst with solvent (turp) before finishing.Its just dust your trying to get rid of, but it can be tenacious. See http://www.alladd.com
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