Inlaying Ebonized Wood

[Len Rosenberg]

Need some advice on how to inlay strips of ebonized wood into maple. The strips will be 1/2" wide. Normally I would rout the groove for the inlay, glue in the strip leaving a little bit higher than the surface of the main piece, and then plane or sand the strip level with the surface. But if I do that, I will simply plane or sand off the layer of the strip that has been ebonized. Solutions?

Thanks all.

Len

[Frederick Skelly]

Been trying to figure out the same thing, so I'm interested in reading what you learn here. I've been told that the wood will draw the dye in deeper if you apply it under vacuum. I have not tried that yet. If it works, you could still plane it.
Fred

[Mike Henderson]

You could get some ebony veneer and inlay that. Or buy dyed black veneer. It looks a bit different from ebony but it's pretty close. And the color goes all the way through.

When you inlay veneer you need to be accurate in your excavation so that the veneer is close to level with the substrate.

Mike

[roger wiegand]

1) Use ebony (or wood that's been dyed through) 2) do it the other way around-- inlay the strip slightly deep and then plane the surrounding wood down to its level.

[Frederick Skelly]

2) do it the other way around-- inlay the strip slightly deep and then plane the surrounding wood down to its level.

Dang. I never thought of that. Wonder how well it works? Gonna have to see.....

[Steve Demuth]

I have been experimenting this summer (for the same reason) with pressure treating wood to bleach it. Haven't got around to ebonizing, although it's on my list of things to try.

I get around 1/32" penetration of the bleach treatment under 90 psi for an hour. Longer treatment increases that, as does vacuum exhausting the wood prior to the pressure treatment. I haven't gotten better than 1/16", but I haven't really tried industrial conditions for pressure treating - they go 3+ hours at 150 psi (my rig can't go beyond 100 psi).

[Len Rosenberg]

Thanks for the responses. No definitive answer. Once I find a solution I will post it here.

[Tom Giacomo]

Thanks for the responses. No definitive answer. Once I find a solution I will post it here.

I have been able to ebonize walnut with vinegar and rust solution one eighth inch deep by soaking in that solution for two months then drying it. This gives you enough depth for a mild sanding.370285

[Len Rosenberg]

Beautiful box, Tom! Soaking for two months? You are a patient man....

[Mike Henderson]

Why not use real ebony? It's expensive but in the small amount required for decorative inlay it shouldn't be a killer.

Mike

[Bob Falk]

Been trying to figure out the same thing, so I'm interested in reading what you learn here. I've been told that the wood will draw the dye in deeper if you apply it under vacuum. I have not tried that yet. If it works, you could still plane it.
Fred

I've tried this and it doesn't work.....dye will not penetrate enough (or evenly)

[Mike Henderson]

I've tried this and it doesn't work.....dye will not penetrate enough (or evenly)

I agree. The factories use pressure, not vacuum. I know people who have tried using vacuum and they were not successful.

Mike

[John K Jordan]

Why not use real ebony? It's expensive but in the small amount required for decorative inlay it shouldn't be a killer.

That was my thought too, but my view might be skewed since I keep a lot of ebony (and african blackwood) on hand for woodturning. (Every shop turning visitor goes home with a piece of ebony!) Many woodturning wood suppliers carry ebony, often in 1x1" squares 12" long. The last 1x1 squares of jet black Gaboon Ebony I bought were less than 50 cents an inch.

Could it be that the using ebonized wood might be easier to glue securely?
Could using a species with properties closer to the base wood hold up better over years of seasonal changes?

I wondered about vacuum vs pressure dying as well. I wonder if first pulling a vacuum then following that with pressure might work best for dye. When I ran a one-guy metallography lab that was how I infused samples with epoxy - first use a strong vacuum then release to atmospheric pressure to pull the epoxy into voids. This is exactly how vacuum infusing is done to fill the inside of a chunk of wood with resin to stabilize for turning. For example, a how-to: http://www.instructables.com/id/Resin-Stabilizing-Wood/

To follow vacuum with pressure would take a special chamber. If forcing dye into wood with pressure works then preceding high positive pressure with a strong vacuum might work better. ???

JKJ