Afrcan Blackwood

[Bedrock]

I am currently making some micro chisels/gouges, with African Blackwood handles. It is the first time I have used this, and I love the weight, texture and subtle grain. I have finished with a very fine sanding medium, and am in two minds as to whether to apply a finish, or leave well alone. I don't want any shine, but am not sure how the wood will react to regular handling without any protection.

Any recommendations please?

Mike

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've always just waxed it. It seems to improve with handling.

 

[MIGNAL]

It will be fine without any finish, as evidenced by countless thousands of guitar fretboards. Lightly damp the surface. let dry and finish with a very fine grit. Buff it and it will take on a bit of a sheen. Alternately you can give it a light coat of Linseed oil.

 

[Bedrock]

Thanks both of you - I will leave as is.

 

[bugbear]

It will be fine without any finish, as evidenced by countless thousands of guitar fretboards. Lightly damp the surface. let dry and finish with a very fine grit. Buff it and it will take on a bit of a sheen. Alternately you can give it a light coat of Linseed oil.

Also used for making clarinets, oboes and bagpipe chanters.

BugBear

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I had a video years ago (til swmbo wiped it) of clarinet bells being made by Dolmetsch (iirc). The blanks had to be absolutely perfect or when they were put on the automatic lathe at an incredibly high speed they flew into 100s of pieces. Fascinating to watch.

 

[David C]

A favorite wood. I have often used Rustins burnishing cream for a bit of shine.

To me this always looks like Brasso without the ammonia?

best,
David

 

[MIGNAL]

Probably some type of Tripoli powder in a solvent, perhaps a turps subs content? Anyway, it's a very fine abrasive.
They wouldn't put ammonia (at least not much) in a furniture polish because of it's alkaline nature, which would mar shellac surfaces.

 

[woodpig]

Let's see some pictures of the tools when you've finished them Mike.

I don't think it will make much difference with the wood you're using but light coloured handles without any kind of finish look pretty tatty after a few months use, at least my file handles do. When I've made my own handles I generally just wipe some sanding sealer over them to keep the dirt out.

 

[David C]

I made an African Blackwood long paring handle for one of my L-N chisels.

No finish, just burnishing cream, it looks great after considerable use.

David

 

[MusicMan]

Yes always used for clarinets and other woodwinds. These get wet inside, so the usual treatment is oiling. There are as many debates amongst instrument makers about oiling as there are on this forum about sharpening. While linseed is used on softer instrument woods like boxwood, African blackwood or grenadilla (Dalbergia melanoxylon) is very resistant to any liquid penetration, and a thinner oil is usually used. Almond, tung or proprietary concoctions called 'woodwind bore oil' are popular.

On a good specimen of polished, oiled blackwood, it is very hard to see any grain at all!

Keith

 

[Bedrock]

Woodpig

I will try to do some WIP if anyone is interested, as soon as I can resolve some technical photo'ing issues. The design is evolving from the first chisel which I made with the usual hollow ferrule in stainless steel. The next ones have a solid ferrules in SS, sunk and industrial glued into the wooden handle, and drilled for the shafts which are being made from round silver steel, c.1/8"diameter, (which I think is O1 tool steel.) After grinding/forging to shape, hardening and polishing, they will be then glued into the ferrule.

Mike

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Woodpig

I will try to do some WIP if anyone is interested, as soon as I can resolve some technical photo'ing issues. The design is evolving from the first chisel which I made with the usual hollow ferrule in stainless steel. The next ones have a solid ferrules in SS, sunk and industrial glued into the wooden handle, and drilled for the shafts which are being made from round silver steel, c.1/8"diameter, (which I think is O1 tool steel.) After grinding/forging to shape, hardening and polishing, they will be then glued into the ferrule.

Mike

Just a quick aside - 'Silver Steel' and O1 are not the same thing. It's true that both are tool steels, but they have different chemical compositions, and respond to different quenches during heat treatment. O1 hardens in oil; Silver Steel, which is much closer to being a straight carbon steel, needs a quicker quench, and responds to water (or, if maximum hardness is needed, brine).

To harden and temper silver steel, heat to something about the colour of cooked carrots, and hold at that temperature for a few minutes - ideally, an hour per inch of thickness. For something of 1/8" diameter, just hold for a minute or so. Then quench in cold water. Clean off with emery cloth or similar, and heat to tempering temperature - watch the colours, and when the desired colour reaches the business end, quench out in water again. Tempering can also be undertaken in a domestic oven, if it will reach the tempering temperature needed.

Edit to add - just looked in the books, and the advice for wood chisels is to temper at 215 - 225 centigrade, about yellow or pale straw if judging by colour. Most domestic ovens should reach that, if you have an accurate enough temperature gauge.

One of the reasons that O1 became a favoured tool making steel is that the slow quench avoids too much distortion, which is one thing that can happen to the straight carbon steels needing a fast water quench. You may find you need to correct flatness of the tools after heat treatment.

By the way, if you'd prefer oil-quenching steel, search for 'ground flat stock' (sometimes called 'gauge plate') which is O1 steel, and available in a huge range of widths and thicknesses, and in small quantities from suppliers such as Folkestone Engineering Supplies or The College Engineering Supply (I've used both suppliers, and can heartily recommend them).

 

[Bedrock]

CC Thanks for this detailed response. I have used and oil-hardened ground flat stock successfully for plane blades, but I was not aware that Silver steel requires water/brine quenching. Will remedy.

Cromwells, who are generally represented countrywide, have a very large engineering supplies catalogue, and will usually supply ground flat overnight. Their stock list I think has reduced in regard to sizes in the last year or so, but they will supply small quantities. Incidentally, their steel supplier runs under the name of "Saxon", a British steel maker, but one piece of ground flat I bought was somewhat less than accurate. Cromwells were fine, and changed, but if you need accurate right angles, do check.

 

[Corneel]

Many of the water hardening steels can be quenched in oil when the diameter is very small. 1/8" is not much. Heat up the oil before quenching, that improves the quenching rate.

 

[Bedrock]

Thanks for this. I will check to see whether last nights hardening attempt has been successful. if not, I will try the water quenching.

 

[Bedrock]

Attached are a couple of photos of the group of chisels I have made so far.

The top one has the standard hollow ferrule in stainless, the others have a solid S/S ferrule recessed into the handles.
As I said before, the sharp bits are made from silver steel and glued into the solid ferrules. The shaping of the chisels is ongoing, but I am likely to end up with six, ranging from the flat chisel in the first photo, to a V and a small gouge, plus a couple of scrapers, as for Bill Carter's square end grind.
Overall 150mm in length, widest 3mm.
Purpose is for carving Netsuke.

Mike

 

[David C]

They look nice,

David

 

[Bedrock]

I bought a couple of fine carving gouges recently. The first half round, which I thought would be ideal for my purpose, is about 1.5mm wide, has about 100mm shaft outboard the handle. It flexes so much that the only way I can get it to cut is to grip about an inch from the sharp end. The handle suggests it is of some age, but I cannot think of what it might be used for. It is certainly not worn. Will post a photo.
This is largely what pushed me to make my own.

Mike.