Hornbeam and Treenails

It's a fascinating question and I'm intrigued to know why you're thinking of it. The post caught my eye because I used European Hornbeam on one occasion many years ago, and what stuck in my mind was how tough it's interlocking grain was to work. I personally wouldn't have thought it was the ideal choice for trennels but I've not used it for such small work.
Drifter
 
FenStranger said:
It's a fascinating question and I'm intrigued to know why you're thinking of it. The post caught my eye because I used European Hornbeam on one occasion many years ago, and what stuck in my mind was how tough it's interlocking grain was to work. I personally wouldn't have thought it was the ideal choice for trennels but I've not used it for such small work.
Drifter
Click to expand...
Your response is exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for. I want to create black trunnels for black wales (which will be in ebony veneer) and I don't want to mess with ebony dust making trunnels. If the grain of hornbeam doesn't run straight I think I will struggle making drawn trunnels...
 
Last edited:
Paul,
It is obvious from my perspective that you are far ahead in your knowledge than what I can offer. Very soon, I will be coming to you for advice - in other words, I don't even know how to answer your question - which says a lot about your gainful knowledge on the subject. Now, (between you and I), please don't tell anyone that I used toothpicks on my Belle Poule Deck - that should tell you a lot about my building skills or maybe laziness(??) --- or something -- LOL.
 
It is a very good question and one that I would personally like the answer to. Whether someone has actually done it, is probably doubtful (I may be totally wrong here), but if the grain qualities of black hornbeam are defined, you can make an educated decision. Otherwise, an e-mail to Bibigon might also be the way to go. There is another option that @Maarten can tell you more about - the black keys of a piano. (obviously the real stuff).
 
I think I'd tend to go along with Heinrich here and as a preference go for Ebony. I came across several Ebony keys once which I used to repair a Tunbridge Ware glove box, using it to make tesserae, and it certainly works more easily than Hornbeam. Oddly, it seems to me, Ebony is more easily available than Hornbeam, in Europe at least.
F/S
 
OlivierF said:
I may be off base here but I’ve used bamboo for drawing out trunnels and dipped them in India Ink to “ebonize” them.
Click to expand...
Thanks Olivier! That will certainly be my back-up plan. Bamboo has a tubular structure that doesn't stand up to close imaging but works beautifully at normal viewing distance. I'm pretty sure I'll end up where you suggest but exploring options until then.
 
If you are allergic, there are a bunch of formulas for ebonizing oak and other straight grained wood. I'd get pretty much down to your final size before using them to make sure the effect goes all the way through. Here are some, and there are many others:
turnawoodbowl.com

5 Magical Ebonizing Wood Tricks (how-to, techniques, formula)

Ebonizing wood is a process of making ordinary wood look jet black like true ebony wood. Here are FIVE Magically Ways to ebonize wood and make it…
turnawoodbowl.com turnawoodbowl.com
If you are not allergic, ebony tourist grade carvings show up at thrift stores and flea markets somewhat often. Keep your eyes peeled!
 
Haha, black piano keys are just a cheap source of ebony.
Ebony is actual very fine in structure but also more brittle then boxwood. I haven't made treenails of it by pulling it through a drawplate but guess it will be possible for shorter lenghts.

Why not using the seringe dril methode making treenails in ebony. This wil will work for sure.

 
Last edited:
RDN1954 said:
That's sacrilege! It's like putting a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine in a boat, or even worse a car...Sick:eek:
Click to expand...
Read up on the history of the famous hydroplane of all times, U76 Miss Madison in the 1971 Gold Cup. They did put Rolls Royce Merlin engines in these boats except that Miss Madison won, running an old Allison. The Allison legacy continues today as the only boat (U3 I think) that is not jet-powered, is still running an Allison.
 
I am painfully aware some heathens put Merlins and apparently also Allisons in hydroplanes...
I also know Merlins used for tractor pulling, of all things!
An interesting fact about the Allison; initially these engines powered the illustrious P51 Mustang. Since the performance of the the Allison was inferior to the Merlin, the latter made its way into the Mustang. That changed the Mustang into the thoroughbred we know. (Strongly abbreviated, there's more to it.)
 
i have used Africian blackwood which is in the rosewood family it is in the top 10 woods for hardness.
i have used it for turning cannons and deadeyes and turned it down to a small point.
i do have a few 1 x 1 x 6 inch pieces if your interested in trying it.
 
Dave Stevens (Lumberyard) said:
i have used Africian blackwood which is in the rosewood family it is in the top 10 woods for hardness.
i have used it for turning cannons and deadeyes and turned it down to a small point.
i do have a few 1 x 1 x 6 inch pieces if your interested in trying it.
Click to expand...
I may just do that Dave (I have seen that species before and some of the pieces were truly black). I'm working on my order of spare boxwood for construction right now, so I'll circle back when I get my head around more of the build details. Much appreciated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top