I want to slice some Gabon Ebony and some Purpleheart 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick. Are there any precautions I need to take to keep the wood from splitting? I did read somewhere that I should coat the block with superglue before slicing. I also saw something about using “clear packaging tape” as a lubricant. I have done several searches on the web, but maybe I’m not phrasing my question properly.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Replies
When you say slicing are you talking about resawing the wood? Your post is a bit confusing to me but I've never claimed to be the brightest bulb in the room. Mebbe a CFL and need a little time to warm up. :-)
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 3/9/2009 5:29 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Well if I don't ask the right question, I won't get the right answer. I want to slice (resaw) some material for inlay use. I have a 4x4x12 piece of Purpleheart and a 3x6x6 piece of Ebony. What I hope to end up with is some 1/8x4x12 Purpleheart and some 1/8x6x6 Ebony. I'm concerned about ending up with splinters instead of some nice thin slices. I asked a similar question of one of the vendors and he pointed me in the direction of some other blogs. Since I already belong to Fine Woodworking, I thought I would start here. Thanks for your patience, Bob. And what is a CFL?
Al
Resawing is no problem. Practice on wood other than your exotics first. Here is an article. Search FWW for many others.http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=27779To make it as easy as posible get this saw or one of the others from Lagunahttp://www.lagunatools.com/bandsaw.lt14se.aspx#When you hear the voice click on "Videos" to watch the video. He does a bit of resawing eventually.rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
Edited 3/10/2009 5:31 am by roc
By the way, the reason people were confused at the beginning is that commercially veneers are cut by literally slicing, with large, sharp but heavy knives. Common plywood has veneers sliced in rotary fashion, as the log is "peeled" , but veneer designed to look more liek solid wood is "Plain sliced" more like a guillotine. There are pressure plates and the like whose details I don't know. But even the plain sliced still has some effects of the kind you were fearing, in particular there is often an "open" side and a "closed" or "tight" side with the open side being that closest to the knife, and the closed side the one in contact with the pressure bar. They take stains, dyes and finishes differently, making book matching a challenge with the commercial veneers. But resawing doesn't create these open and closed sides. There still can be differences in natural chatoyance depending on which side that you might be concerned about but that isn't unique with veneers.
Yes, as others have said, both woods should resaw fine, with ordinary care, expecially as thick as 1/8".
And, Bob, what is a CFL?
Edited 3/10/2009 8:22 am ET by SteveSchoene
I'm not Bob, but since the reference was to not being the brightest bulb in the shop, I'm going to assume CFL means "compact fluorescent" light bulb.
CFLs usually take a minute or so to warm up (it seems to take longer when they're cold) before they produce their rated amount of light..
Zolton
If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Edited 3/10/2009 12:11 pm ET by Zolton
Edited 3/10/2009 12:12 pm ET by Zolton
Zolton,
it seems to take longer when they're cold
Or old, like me. :-)
Yes, they are compact flourescent light bulbs. I put up several switched runs so I could run them when needed. So far so good. They give off pretty decent light and not garish like regular flourescent tube light.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I don't think you'll have a problem getting slices rather than splinters from the bandsaw - it's the planer I'd be concerned with.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Like Bob, I don't follow your question. What are you trying to achieve and what tools are you intending to use?
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
(soon to be www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
1/8 inch thick slices? What are the dimensions of the block you are cutting into slices?
Greg
•••••••
Exo 35:30-35
Questions from above responder are important for clarification of what you're doing. I can respond to some extent about the packaging tape: scrollers use it when stacking for multiple pieces, and it does seem to lubricate the scroll blade to some extent.
I have used PAM (non-stick cooking spray) for lubricating a band saw blade. There are other products specific to that application.
Didn't mean to cause a ruckus and was a bit confused by what you meant as I didn't think of veneer with 1/8" thivkness. We're cool, now I understand.
Sorry, can't help ye! :-)
Really, I haven't cut veneer but have cut 1/8" slices of cherry burl and use a Lennox blade, but I'm sure there are other better blades. Mine works for the very little resawing that I do. Want to do more but it never makes it to the top of the list.
I have some ebony and was interested to see what folks have to say about it. I saw some pieces that were sliced through the grain, i.e. both side were endgrain. Also I'd like some day to make a woodie and thought the ebony would be a good sole for it.
Purpleheart is unfamiliar to me but I understand it's very hard - roc knows a lot about it.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Thank you all for your help and patience. I thought I should go with a 1/8" thickness for durability. And since Ebony is fairly expensive, I plan to make a "test" project first. But I'm sure I'll make plenty of sawdust in the process.
Thanks again,
Al
Al,
One more note for your consideration: Use good dust collection as should always be done when working any wood. I would also recommend using a respirator.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I am curious why you want such thick inlays? If you go a bit thinner, I would order from a veneer supplier. That Ebony is too expesive to waste as sawdust. I have also found some of the exotics have more checks/splits and that can complicate re-sawing. I made up some tigerwood inlays recently and had a heck of a time because of such flaws.
I know quite a few people that use 1/42" thick for inlays. You could even glue up multiple layers to achieve a greater thickness if you think you need 1/8" for durability.
Brad
I do not know about Ebony. I can't afford it!
However I use Purpleheart very often. Thick 'sticks', I use a bandsaw (Lenox non-carbide blade). If the size allows, I use the tablesaw.
Unless you have wild grain, purpleheart is not that hard to work. Cutting it I rarely have any problems. Using a router can sometimes be a challenge because the grain will 'split' (I call is shatter) if you do not watch the grain.
In fact, this Monday, I 'sliced' some strips (Maybe 40 or so for a neighbors wife. She makes baskets out of them. All the strips were 4 foot long. A mix (at her request) of 1/2, 3/4, and 1 inch wide by 1/16 inch thick. I cut them all on my old so called junk tablesaw using my every day combination blade. Yes, a standard kerf blade. I gave up using thin-kerf.
I cut (using a thin stock gauge for spacing) a bit over-size as to thickness because I usually run them through my drum sander for a 'light' sanding pass on each side. One pass on each side is all that is usually all that is necessary. (She has a hand scraper, which I have to sharpen for her, for touch-up if she needs it while working.).. I think she soaks the strips in boiling water for bending on a form.
I boards she got were very straight grained (looked like Riff sawn but all the Purpleheart I ever see is Flat Sawn). I should have cut to 'size'. No sanding would have been needed.
Even without a new blade it cut smooth as glass! Very nice boards!
I will say that Purbleheart will tend to 'burn' if you hesitate during your cut. My TS is only 1 1/2 HP so I have to be careful of that. The burn will go fairly deep (relative to what you want to end up with in thickness)
Edited 3/11/2009 12:06 pm by WillGeorge
I just resawed some ebony in that dimension into 1/4 x2x12.
I'm using it as trim detail along with 1/8 Maple along the edges of the outside of a Jewerly box I am cobbling together out of Zebra.
--DUCT Tape is the "force"... It has a Light side and a Dark side and it binds the universe together
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