need suggestions on cuting up a block of ebony

[Matt Shade]

My grandpa does a lot of woodworking and made a few dulcimers at one time or another, and just out of the blue gave me a big chunk of ebony he had left from making some of the parts on them.
Its about 1"x 4"x 8" . I have a bandsaw but its a little benchtop delta with no rip fence and only takes a 3/8" or smaller blade. Not to mention the fact that it runs at over 2000 fpm. So its out of the question for cutting this stuff.
I have access to a table saw, but I can see a dull blade in its future if I try to use it for much with the ebony.

It has a few small splits starting in the end grain, those have me worried a little about cutting it. Should I trim the end off above those to keep them from going deeper? How brittle is it?(I don't want this flying to peices the moment it touches the blade) I think it would still leave long enough peices for scales or blocks for a handle.
And is this stuff pretty good for a hidden/stick tang knife? Its not stabilized, but it doesn't seem like it needs or will take much of a finish ( too hard and oily). I'd rather not try to slice it up into scale sized peices if I could use blocks.

Thanks for any help.

And yes, I'll be making my grandpa a knife or two in the near future

 

[samwereb]

Hey Matt, what about adding your own rip fence with two c-clamps and a piece of scrap? Just plan your work, and work your plan. Same goes with the table saw. Go slowly.

 

[Matt Shade]

Thanks, I tried that once already though. The guides, and the narrow blade just aren't made for straight cuts in anything hard

What I was really curious about is whether ebony is prone to splitting or not, especcially while its being machined. I'm trying to figure out how careful I should be, or what the best way to work around the splits/cracks that have already started is.
If the stuf isn't going to hold up as a solid handle I'll make scales out of it.

 

[Teknotchr]

Coming from a shop teacher& free time knifemaker, I would definitely not put a section of ebony that size on a tablesaw(Or many other types of wood for that matter.) The result would most likely be some very stubby fingers that would be useless for knifemaking. As far as the cracking on the end grain, the material is being allowed to lose moisture too quickly. Treat the material with a wood conditioner, or seal the ends until you are ready to use it(dipped in wax.) I have used alot of ebony for handles, some of which I carry and haven't had any problems with cracking.(slab handles) Good luck!!

 

[tom mayo]

Ebony checks by looking at it.........get it warm and it checks. Leave it alone and it checks. I would take it over to someone who has a resaw bandsaw and have them cut it up for you. Table saw will work fine but BE careful. Put super glue on the ends and the checks will disappear (DISAPPEAR!). Good Luck. If you got it from your grandpa I would imagine its already been sitting around for a number of years. Dont use it right after cutting it up. The longer you wait the better. Apply super glue to ANY check or crack.

 

[RARanney]

Was the problem with the bandsaw that it was too dull, or was the blade jamming because it didn't want to cut parallel to the table edge?

 

[Matt Shade]

Thanks, I'll get the ends sealed up.
I'll have to stop in at the local woodcraft and see if those guys can slice it up for me. They've got some machinery in the store for demos and workshops. I think there's a big honkin bandsaw back there

RARanney, my bandsaw just isn't heavy duty enough for those type of cuts. There isn't a real good selection of blades for it, and the widest you can get is 3/8". Trying to cut anyhting hard over about 1/2" thick just makes the blade twist back and forth.