Finish for ebony?

[derekcohen]

I need advice on finishing ebony, which I have not done before.

Of course I would prefer a Ubeaut product, but I am open to hearing about all finished or methods that work for you.

I don't want a glossy finish, nor do I want matt. I would like the end result to have a shine that comes from the wood, with the figure coming through (it can tend to be obscurred with oil finishes).

Here is an unfinished example ..

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Articles/Brese%20small%20smoother%20kit/Mods%20and%20fitting%20ebony%20infills/18Session2-frontinfillfitted1.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Articles/Brese%20small%20smoother%20kit/Final%20session/Allfitted1.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[mickelmaster]

I dont know what to finish it with, but looks great!

[wheelinround]

Just did a google and found heaps of ideas choosing is the hardest

Mean looking plane Derek

[Lignum]

Gotta love the Ebony Derek. I use a bit of it, and sand up to 1000 (or if yours is straight of the plane/scraper) give it a big burnish so it’s almost polished, then finish with wax or EEE. So simple and It will look sooooo smooth `n sexy:wink:

Nice looking little plane:)

[sherbie182]

Derek,

I was given some advice in a thread early this month (just look a little lower) to simply run up through the sandpaper grits until I'm happy with the finish - at about 600-800, I think you should get a reasonable satiny kind of finish. I don't have any photos of my ebony piece yet but it looks fantastic without any finish applied. I believe that ebony fingerboards and the like are commonly left unfinished. The amount of work put in defines the amount of shine and depth to the finished wood

[STAR]

What a fabulous idea for a small block plane. I have a small piece of gaboon ebony which I got for some marquetry and some awls.

I believe just sanding through the grits including wet & dry and then buffering like you would do a pen does an excellent job. the hardness of ebony seems to respond to the burnishing effect really well.

Now. I am off to check my ebony supplier to see if I can afford a bigger bit for a couple of small planes as long as I can adapt some blades I have.

Peter

[Dangermouse]

I seem to remember Konrad Sauer posting something earlier this year on his site about finishing for his infills. From memory he french polishes them. Might be worth a trawl through his site for ideas?

Wish I could see your pics - work's firewall is blocking them :C.

[jackliveshere]

Dunno about a finish, but that is a sweet looking plane Derek!

Cheers,

Will

[Sebastiaan56]

Hi Derek,

Beautiful plane mate! On musical instruments ebony is normally poished through the grits and then maybe some oil is used for preservation, OzTradie in the Musical instruments section of the forum is the guru of this approach, see http://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=98317&page=3 towards the bottom of the page.

[wheelinround]

Picked up a piece of Ebony at SWWS 2x2x14 long LOML will get enough to make a couple of pens the rest is all mine :U

[Sebastiaan56]

Was that the Sollies or African Ebony?

I got some of the Sollies stuff, heavy, dense, hard, just like me!

[wheelinround]

Its dense and hard like a bit of steel sort of more brown colour Sollies for sure for $10

The African would have been nice but for the price $150 to $250 for same size as Sollies :no: LOML would have strung me by the ............

[lucyfanclub]

Toothpaste works well for polishing ebony. I use it on my double bass fingerboard...have been for years. Regular Colgate works well.