Bubinga?

[Woodbloke]

I've have a 'request' from SWIMBO for a small project to store shoes and slippers. However, it needs to sit between her walnut chest of drawers and elm cabinet, so it needs to be 'respectable'. Having done a little bit of research on Pinterest this morning I've found a suitable design that can be adapted and having delved into my wood stack in the 'shop I've found a long 50mm thick board of quarter sawn Bubinga which I can convert. The Wood Database mentions that Bubinga is relatively easy to work but the stuff I've got is seriously interlocked and a nightmare to plane by hand; an edge tool anywhere near it produces instant and magnificent tear out!

Any pointers on how to go about using this stuff? It planes well off the P/T with only minor tear out, so my plan was to stuff it through the drum sander and finish with an ROS, using dowels for construction. The bit shown below is off the bigger board and has been scraped and sanded with 120g using a ROS.




How to's, hints, advice welcome - Rob

 

[AJB Temple]

I had a bit of Bubinga which I used to make a book matched quilted back for a violin experiment 7 years ago. I had already been warned by the supplier (Timberline) that it is impossible to plane by hand as the grain goes in all directions and so I did all the shaping with a gouge, hand scraper and ROS. It works very well and finishes superbly. I found that splinters of it (like Wenge) go in a long way and get infected very easily, so if you are a sensitive little flower like me be careful.

 

[Woodbloke]

I had a bit of Bubinga which I used to make a book matched quilted back for a violin experiment 7 years ago. I had already been warned by the supplier (Timberline) that it is impossible to plane by hand as the grain goes in all directions and so I did all the shaping with a gouge, hand scraper and ROS. It works very well and finishes superbly. I found that splinters of it (like Wenge) go in a long way and get infected very easily, so if you are a sensitive little flower like me be careful.

Thanks Adrian, pretty much what I'd anticipated. The grain does indeed go everywhere, but it's nowhere near as bad as Satinwood wot I'm currently using - Rob

 

[Phil]

I bought lots of offcuts from Rarewoods in Cape Town. (went into the aircraft hold as luggage )
Locally known as African Rosewood.
The grain does go everywhere, but using the TP sorts that out.
I still have a couple of pieces in stock waiting for inspiration.

This is 1 of 2 coffee mills I made. Drawer handle not yet fitted.
Nice to work with, all tools must be ultra sharp, especially the router bits.
The finish on this was Danish oil.
(Mechanism imported from Rockler USA)
And, yes, it does work.

 

[Richard]

I've found a long 50mm thick board of quarter sawn Bubinga which I can convert. the stuff I've got is seriously interlocked and a nightmare to plane by hand; an edge tool anywhere near it produces instant and magnificent tear out!
It planes well off the P/T with only minor tear out, so my plan was to stuff it through the drum sander and finish with an ROS, using dowels for construction.

I see no objection to dimensioning and polish prepping with the method you propose. But, if you happen to be keen to include hand planing and eliminating or at least minimising tearout then a very sharp iron and a really, really close set cap iron will help. Naturally, the plane has to be in good shape, plus the iron and cap iron well matched, i.e., no gaps between the two and the cap iron's leading edge able to effectively curl the shavings away, that sort of thing, all of which I suspect you already know. Slainte.

 

[Tinman]

About 25 years ago when bubinga was reasonably priced and available I made a 6ft X 3t dining table. I have used all the left overs for tool handles and cabinet handles.
It is extremely hard and I remember that my 12" thicknesser struggled to take more than about 0.5mm in a pass but the finish even from a 2 knife block was fairly good
Hand planed OK but blunts the blade relatively quickly
The wood is a bit oily and for butt gluing you need very good edge preparation
It finishes to a very good finish. I used linseed (i think boiled) as a finish
Any screw holes need to be well piloted and if using brass screws pre thread with a steel screw

 

[Woodbloke]

I see no objection to dimensioning and polish prepping with the method you propose. But, if you happen to be keen to include hand planing and eliminating or at least minimising tearout then a very sharp iron and a really, really close set cap iron will help. Naturally, the plane has to be in good shape, plus the iron and cap iron well matched, i.e., no gaps between the two and the cap iron's leading edge able to effectively curl the shavings away, that sort of thing, all of which I suspect you already know. Slainte.

Thanks Richard. It planes very well on crown cut surfaces but on quarter sawn ones it simply tears out. I use a Veritas low angle plane with a relatively high effective pitch and very tight mouth which will tame it but it's slow, hard work and it still needs scraping afterwards - Rob

 

[Phil]

Bubinga - An interesting piece, looking for inspiration ................

 

[Malc2098]

Slice it veneer thin and make up bookmatched pieces for inset work.

 

[Phil]

Slice it veneer thin and make up bookmatched pieces for inset work.

Good idea Malc.
Maybe an excuse to buy a band saw. F-knows where it will go

 

[Malc2098]

Good idea Malc.
Maybe an excuse to buy a band saw. F-knows where it will go

Any flat vertical or horizontal surface, table top, cupboard door, etc. But excellent excuse!