Working with zebrano

[hamburglar]

Hi there

Bought a piece yesterday to make a mirror frame. Had a go at planing an edge to see if it really does smell like wet dog when worked (it does!!) Noticed that it tears and doesn't seem to plane well.

Has anyone ever worked with it? Any tips on getting a fine finish. I'm guessing alot of sanding in place of the planing. I've yet to thickness it.

Any advice would be well appreciated.

Thanks

Rob

 

[mr]

Erm I found it planed really nicely but that splinters from it were evil, I didn't notice a wet dog smell either, but there you go. As I say I found that planes left a nice smooth almost oily to the touch finish. As ever if you're struggling with a plane make sure that the iron is sharp and the mouth tight.
Not much help I know just a different perspective - praps one of us isnt / wasnt using Zebrano
Cheers Mike

 

[OPJ]

You want to make sure you're planing in the right direction also and not going against the grain. I imagine this timber would be quite straight-grained though?

Are you holding the plane parallel or are you skewing it slightly?

 

[Philly]

Zebrano is usually cut quartersawn to give the best effect of the stripes. The downside is the grain can be seriously interlocked on the quartered face, each row needing to be planed the opposite way to the next row.
You'll find that one direction will give less tear-out than the other - you may still get tear-out though. The best way to minimise this is a very sharp blade, very fine shaving (do NOT take huge shavings or the tearout will go on for miles) and a tight mouth. If all of this does not help then you need to try a plane with a higher pitch - 60 degrees should work wonders.
Of course, you may also resort to the random orbit sander :lol:
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[hamburglar]

Thanks for the help guys.

Will let you know how I get on over the weekend. Definitely wet dog odour. Verified by the wife!

Thanks again

Rob

 

[bob_c]

Planing with the plane held skewed usually helps,i find Zebrano similar to Ebony to plane. Have you ever tried a toothed blade,they are very good for woods that are prone to tear out .You can easily make a toothed iron with a dremel and some cutting discs,using an old spare blade.

 

[bobscarle]

I haven't planed it, but I have turned a piece. It smelt like.....well I don't really know. Not a wet dog, but maybe something the dog left in the bushes.

Nice wood. Turned well, finished well, lovely grain. Smelt horrible!

Bob

 

[mr]

Odd I don't recall a smell at all, might have a go at some tomorrow.

Cheers Mike

 

[Jeff Gorman]

bobscarle wrote:

I haven't planed it, but I have turned a piece. It smelt like.....well I don't really know. Not a wet dog, but maybe something the dog left in the bushes.

To me, it smells more like hen houses.

 

[woodbloke]

Agree with Philly's comments on this stuff. I did a picture frame a while ago and I found it quite tricky stuff to work with, good effect from the stripes though when it was finished - Rob

 

[RogerS]

Resurrecting this thread as I'm working with Zebrano for the first time and, yup, tearout. Thicknessing by drum sander works..even though it takes forever.

My concern, though, is with the next steps. I need to run some mouldings and already have had the spindle moulder cutter made up. I'm guessing the fastest speed and shallowest cuts imaginable....maybe even some climb cutting? I may even try the cutters as a handheld scraper....any and all suggestions welcome.

Ditto requirement to cut some shallow grooves about 6mm wide x 3mm deep. Router? Groover? Twin flute cutter? Anything more exotic? Or spindle moulder and groover with wings to get a sharply defined edge with minimal tearout?

 

[jorgoz]

No experience with zebrano, though i'm eager to try some.

For planing, dampening the wood helps a lot.

I run rosewood and purpleheart without any noticeable tearout trough the planer/thicknesser, sharp knives mind. Wetting the wood allows wood fibers to swell pushing against it's neighboring fibers, reducing tearout enormously. Great way to plane birdseye as well.

I would think that skewing the plane would actually make it worse because you're reducing the cutting angle.

 

[bugbear]

Resurrecting this thread as I'm working with Zebrano for the first time and, yup, tearout. Thicknessing by drum sander works..even though it takes forever.

My concern, though, is with the next steps. I need to run some mouldings and already have had the spindle moulder cutter made up. I'm guessing the fastest speed and shallowest cuts imaginable....maybe even some climb cutting? I may even try the cutters as a handheld scraper....any and all suggestions welcome.

Ditto requirement to cut some shallow grooves about 6mm wide x 3mm deep. Router? Groover? Twin flute cutter? Anything more exotic? Or spindle moulder and groover with wings to get a sharply defined edge with minimal tearout?

Many hard woods respond well to scraping; if you're making small pieces, I'd try a scratch stock for the mouldings.

BugBear

 

[RogerS]

Sadly not small size

 

[Benchwayze]

Hmmmm...


I bought a couple of 24" pieces, 2" square, because they happened along. Haven't touched them yet, so all this is manna to me. Thanks folks. All noted, but it does tempt me towards just keeping them as 'specimens'!

 

[davidthomson]

I just got a bit 3x3x6 inch

It is sanding quite well but the pale areas are prone to tearing.

Has anybody else had any success and what did you use to finish it?

Cheers
D

 

[davidthomson]

I found this which seems to be a good pointer

http://forums.finewoodworking.com/fine- ... sh-zebrano


Can anyone suggest a UK product " alkyd varnish" or "oil varnish"

 

[deserter]

I turn it frequently and it responds really well to the skew and abranet. If I were working it off the lathe I would most likely use a sharp cabinet scraper as mush as possible.

 

[Modernist]

I'd be surprised if a high angle (60 ish) smoother didn't tame it.

 

[David111s]

Hi all,

I've found zebrano very tricky to hand plane, even with a high pitch! It does however seem to machine pretty well! I have had good results and little tearout with the planer/thicknesser!
Take it steady with a high speed on the router and it doesn't disintegrate!

Regards

David