How do you work with wenge?

[Goat]

Hi all,

Been a while since my last project.  I picked up some 3/4" wenge to use as a turtle shell.  I've never used this wood before.  I really like the grain and color.  However its been a real challenge to work with this wood.  I tried many blades and ended up using an Olsen "Thick Wood" blade which is really big and almost impossible to do anything more than a straight line.  #5s would burn the wood and #7 I had to use for some of the bends, but it was a struggle.  So what is the "proper" blade to tackle this?

I managed to get through all the cutting and quickly found out another challenge.  How do you guys sand this wood?  I got about 1/4 of my project shaped before I called it quits.  I use a 1" belt sander for 99% of my heavy shaping (single speed unfortunately).  120 grit burns this wood easily so I have to use very little pressure and even then it still must be burning a little as it really stinks.  I dropped down to a 60 grit and it definitely takes wood off better, it still burns the wood very easily.  I suppose if it didn't stink so bad I could deal with it a little more, lol.  My mask cuts down on the smell some, but its still an annoying smell.  So what is the proper technique to sand this wood without burning it?

Thanks!

[Bpardue]

I don’t use that wood for those reasons. I use Peruvian walnut for all my black 

Edited December 12, 2019 by Bpardue

[Goat]

6 hours ago, Bpardue said:

I don’t use that wood for those reasons. I use Peruvian walnut for all my black 

Good to know.  So I guess the answer is I'm not doing anything wrong and I suffer through it on this project and never buy it again, lol.  I see it listed in so many projects here, which is where I got the idea to buy some.  I don't remember those people complaining about working it.  Good thing I only bought 1 piece and I used 90% of it in the turtle shell.

I don't remember seeing Peruvian Walnut at my store, I'll have to ask and see.  Maybe they were just out of stock.  Its an hour drive 1 way so Ive only been there a few times.

Since Im new to these exotic woods, any other woods I should stay away from?

[Bpardue]

19 hours ago, Goat said:

Good to know.  So I guess the answer is I'm not doing anything wrong and I suffer through it on this project and never buy it again, lol.  I see it listed in so many projects here, which is where I got the idea to buy some.  I don't remember those people complaining about working it.  Good thing I only bought 1 piece and I used 90% of it in the turtle shell.

I don't remember seeing Peruvian Walnut at my store, I'll have to ask and see.  Maybe they were just out of stock.  Its an hour drive 1 way so Ive only been there a few times.

Since Im new to these exotic woods, any other woods I should stay away from?

That is really the only wood I don't use. But another difficult wood to work with is bloodwood. I only use small amounts of it.

[Goat]

13 hours ago, Bpardue said:

That is really the only wood I don't use. But another difficult wood to work with is bloodwood. I only use small amounts of it.

Thanks for the heads up.  My "solution" was to take the belt sander outside (its pretty cold here) and finish the shaping out there so it doesn't stink my room up.  I remembered I have a 4x4 hand sander.  I put some 320 grit on that and its cleaning up the pieces really well.  I was doing it by hand as I do all the other pieces, but I wasn't happy with the results and was working way too hard on a single piece.  I'll have it ready for finish tomorrow

[Sycamore67]

No doubt it is a difficult wood.  It can have a lot of different grain looks but can add a lot of character.

[Goat]

1 hour ago, Sycamore67 said:

No doubt it is a difficult wood.  It can have a lot of different grain looks but can add a lot of character.

After the 60 grit I thought I had ruined the pieces.  However after I got back to 320 it really started to pop again.  I have it all sanded now and just need to run up to the store to get some finish.

[amazingkevin]

I,ve got problems enough trying to cut 2" epay

[trailfndr]

I cut 3/4 Wenge with a number 5 Ultra reverse blade from Flying Dutchman.  The trick for me is to slow down the feed speed, and yes, it takes a lot of time to cut, and you will go thru more blades than usual.  As for Sanding,  I use a flexible drum with 80 grit for rough sanding, and then work down to 220 grit.  Again, slower than most woods,  but the result can be beautiful

[Woodmaster1]

One of the biggest problems with wenge is you need a pair of tweezers from the time you buy it until your done with it.

[Rolf]

On 12/19/2019 at 6:27 AM, Woodmaster1 said:

One of the biggest problems with wenge is you need a pair of tweezers from the time you buy it until your done with it.

Serious dust collection is a must if you are working on Intarsia.  If you have never checked out the hazards of wood check out this site. https://www.wood-database.com/ 

"Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, breathing Wenge wood dust has been reported to cause central nervous system effects, abdominal cramps, irritation of the skin and eyes, and is a sensitizer. ... See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information."

And nasty splinters they are! The fester almost immediately.  I use have used the Olson Mach 3 blades in the past without problems. I cut some yesterday using the Pegas MGT#3 12.4 TPI without issue. Take your time and back up periodically to clear the sawdust. 

When it comes to sanding I have a 6" pneumatic drum that I do the majority of my shaping on. I also have a  2" on the other side with 80 grit.  And patience with any of the hard woods.

I will post an image of my current work in progress in the intarsia section, It has lots of not so nice woods like Cedar, and hard wood Wenge, Lignum Vitae.

[Dave Monk]

I am also a newbe to exotic wood. This past weekend I was working with some purple heart. Wow, was it ever hard to work with.

[Scrappile]

This may help, when I built my street organ I had parts I built using Cocobolo wood.  A lot like wenge, hard, toxic, and difficult, but, beautiful.  I used a Shinto Rasp for the rough shaping.  It has fine on one side coarse on the other. Do the rough shaping before grabbing the sand paper.   A very valuable tool for shaping wood.  Not even very expensive.

 

Edited January 23, 2020 by Scrappile

[Frank Pellow]

Slowly, mostly with a rasp.