Ebony

[Gary Morris]

Hi
I'd like to make a name for my niece, using ebony. The measurements would be approximately 70mm x 35mm x 12mm +0/-2mm.
using the 'French Script' (joined lettering) font the line thickness would vary between 1mm and 3mm.

Is this feasible or too much to take on for a beginner? I understand ebony is a very hard wood, is it also brittle?
Any advice would be really appreciated and welcome. The font can be changed to give a thicker line dimension, I chose this for cosmetic reasons only.

thanks
Gary

 

[Gill]

Ebony is both hard, brittle and very expensive.

It might be worthwhile considering using a different wood which is high in tannins, such as oak, and 'ebonising' it instead. If you search this forum you'll find there are several ways to do this, such as fuming the wood with ammonia or painting it with a solution of vinegar into which iron objects (such as screws) have been dropped. There's also Chestnut's ebonising lacquer. I've used both the vinegar solution and the ebonising lacquer very successfully but I've never been brave enough to fume wood with ammonia. My preference would be to opt for the lacquer - it gives a much deeper, more convincing colour whereas the vinegar solution can turn the wood a dirty deep brown or even a dark green. Actually, the vinegar solution can produce a very convincing effect if you're trying to 'antique' a piece..... not that I've ever done anything so deceitful, of course O !

 

[Gary Morris]

Thanks Gill
I'll more than likely go down the ebonising laquer route. I wanted to use ebony, as her name is 'Ebony' and she picked out a piece when my son and sister visited Yandles recently, saying "Oh look they named this after me" lol
I've made a hippo 'ornament' out of 'oak?,' and noticed it has a raised grain, so I've ordered some grain filler, is this a characteristic of oak or have I mistaken the identity of the wood do you think.

Gary

 

[Gill]

You tend to get raised grain when you apply a finish, especially a water-based finish. Your description sounds as if you've got some very open grained oak, and oak is very open grained anyway.

I'm a bit lax with oak - I usually just apply a dilute version of whatever finish I'll be using and build up the layers, allowing the finish to fill the grains. Beware of using a finish which has added metallic hardeners, though - I've known them to react with oak and ebonise it!