Definitely, DEFINITELY have to keep multiple types of tweezers handy when dealing with this wood, and use thick leather gloves when working with it if at all possible; handle it the way you would handle a bush with stems covered by loosely attached thorns. It really does put nasty splinters in your hands, seemingly if you do anything more than glance at it from across the room. Even with careful handling of finished boards, I still get splinters, and those splinters seem to get more infected/nasty/slower to heal than splinters from most other woods. I love the look of wenge, and if it were less expensive I might buy some to use, but the price and the splinters from it are such that I won't be buying it again unless I have a very good reason, such as a project or look that I want to do that can only be achieved with wenge.
I have to wear gloves and long sleeves when especially when ripping wenge, and if you do get those nasty little porcupine darts in your skin, get them out or that will often fester for week to 10 days. It does chip when routering and if you get a scallop on a flat surface, tough to sand that our without leaving tiny splinters that will snag tack clothe. Otherwise, I love it for the contrast on my projects.
sounds like it may have toxin. be careful and prevent splinters or at least immediately remove them. the look after the finish must be unbelievable though, yes?
Great information. I love this wood along with Ebony. You can actually sand this wood to a natural gloss finish. I have done several items this way and the results are beautiful. Thanks for sharing your knowledge on this wood!
Hi Mark, so glad I found your channel! I’m a female who has recently gotten into woodworking and I sooo appreciate all the knowledge and tips you share with us. I’m learning so much! I also have to say, and this might sound weird.. but I love the chill music you use in your videos. I find myself not being able to watch a lot of the woodworking videos out there where they use loud metal or thrash music… even though I appreciate all types of music, I don’t want loud, chaotic music in the background of a video I’m watching and trying to concentrate on in order to learn something. So thank you for that!
I would definitely add some more of these specific woods, I really enjoy them and give great info. Lacewood, Bubinga, Ash, Purple Heart, Hickory, Teak, etc
I've been looking forward to this video , thanks for choosing Wenge this week. I really enjoy working with Wenge besides the splinters. Those little suckers can be difficult to remove, haha. I really like the look you achieved from Bleaching. Definitely going to try that out soon. You are always educational and you have a great format to your videos. Thanks for your contributions to the craft!
Amazing video! Amazing projects! Very Informative, and you throwing out all of the different options on finishing is something ALL of us appreciate. You put some work into this video
I've used Wenge as accent to Maple jewelry boxes as well as thinner strips on trays and cutting boards but never thought of making dishes out of it. And that bleaching technique is great. Thanks Mark, for another super informative video.
Hello Sir, My name is Ian, I'm from the UK, not far from where Manchester United football team play. I'm going to take advantage of modern technology and send you a message! I just wanted to say thank you for your video on explaining the details of this Wenga timber. I was looking online and took a chance on purchasing some of this timber without knowing much about it. I was looking for a very dark timber, ideally Rosewood. However, my local stockist said he hadnt got any and was difficult to obtain. With this in mind, I saw the Wenga and purchased what I required straight away. I hadn't considered whether the wood was dangerous for my skin to work with, or if the dust particles were dangerous to inhale etc. You video was extremely helpful and gave the ooomph, strength and enthusiasm to go forward. I'm hoping to make an air rifle gunstock as the particular one I would like arent made any more. As Wenga is very dark, I intend to laminate it with Ash. I think it will look nice through the surface undulations. I'm planning on three layers of Wenga and two layers of Ash. It will be a thumbhole stock. I'm not lucky enough to have a workshop, I'll do the build in my kitchen, photographing the different stages and journey. The wood will all be hand sawn to show my love of woodwork and working with my hands. I'm really excited and I thank you for inspiring me to go forward and have a go. This will be my third gunstock having already made two previously. I send you good luck and best wishes and thank you for what you've done for me. Ian.
Thanks for the vid! I just purchased some Wenge for my first guitar build (roasted maple and Purple Heart with Wenge top), and your tips are much appreciated.
It's great for use in multi-laminate necks on guitars, and especially basses. It's great for neck through builds. It can be oily, which can affect the quality of the glue up. A quick wipe with acetone prior to glue up can help this.
Really appreciate these videos. I've been building with these exotics for a couple decades so I'll add what I can. Wenge is great for inlay. It's great for guitar and basses in multi-laminate necks, but not the best for fretboards, due to the grain and fiber structures (Ebony is great in both applications). If glue up us difficult, a quick wipe down with acetone will remove some of the surface oils that interact with the glue in not so beneficial ways. SHARP, SHARP tools. HARD tools. DO wear gloves. DO, ALWAYS, wear a mask.
I can not find any other woodworker who talks about wood and their variety. Great information. Sadly it's hard to get a lot of these tropical spices in the UK.
Brilliant video have been working with this wood for a while and I love it, I can certainly attest to the splinters very painful and plentiful if you’re not careful.
Love this exotics series... I really like Wenge, but it is indeed quite splintery and with lots of blowouts when cross cutting, frustrating sometimes when trying to make small fine pieces... However, being so black you can use Black CA glue and it hides defects pretty well (with some dust so abate the glue shine). The bleaching idea blew my mind... I will have to try it. Just watch that wood dust... Some say it is one of the most "toxic". Thanks
Great video. Have you thought about making more how-to videos? Most of your videos feature a wood. By the way, I moved away from Mesa four years ago, really miss your store
About 20 years ago, I made a plant stand out of Wenge. I still think it's the nicest looking thing I've made, but I was digging splinters out for a month afterward!
Whoever is that sad of an idiot to dislike this video should smash their devices and never watch these videos again. How can you not appreciate good information, craftsmanship, and great content?
Thanks for the review! New wood formed in a tree during spring and summer is light in color. Toward the end of a growing season, new cells formed are smaller and have darker thicker walls. The wood is more dense and darker.
Made my first acoustic guitar from this wood...about 40 years ago...my daughter just acquired that guitar from its former owner...still sounds great though it needs a refresher like maybe a neck reset...not unusual after that time...yes on the respirator while working this wood, splinters as well...
Great wood to work with, and worth mentioning that Wenge also come in a white color, personally I like merging the white and dark in cutting boards and using it for trim and accents in boxes, just way too heavy for projects on its own.
I made some pens and other turned goods out of wenge and don't recommend it for that application too much. Like you said it's a very splintery wood and that becomes very evident on a turned piece. You could get around this by having some thick coats of finish or an epoxy I guess. Anyways great video!
Beautiful wood, but not so good for those of us with wood allergies. I get significant rashes from it, and have consequently also developed more sensitivity to my beloved padauk. But with the appropriate safety measures, and some conscientious handling, it’s all good. And thanks for the bleach tip!
Great video, very informative. But seeing you covered in wenge dust.... you need a cnc router for those concave surfaces.... alot less dust flying everywhere.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed wenge as "Critically Endangered" (next level below extinct) because of loss of habitat due to land clearing, and from loss of trees for lumber. Please obtain lumber from reputable and reliable sources.
Millettia laurentii is a legume tree from Africa and native to the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The species is listed as "endangered" in the IUCN Red List, principally due to destruction of its habitat and *over-exploitation for timber*. Just use walnut, you don't need wenge, no one needs wenge.
Hi, I love this wood! What oil did you use on the cutting-board? What oil or finnish do you recommend to use if youre using wenge for a chair or table? Keep up the good work!
bought 20bf of it when it was $10/bf...used it with curly maple for jewelry boxes.....loved the look....be a long time before I use it again....for quality finish , filler must be used...and lots of it. Deeper grain than any oak I've worked with.
Been working with wenge for some time now, not an easy wood in my experience: it dulls any tools that aren’t carbide in a matter of minutes, even top quality steel, carbide doesn’t last that much longer really. The gluing is arduous, especially miters being basically endgrain, even when using titebond iii i had to start over many times because it just came lose after a night in clamps. Using oil as a finish also a no go, ruins the beautiful pattern leaving it dull and dark. Pu varnish or shellac is a better choice. Nice tip on the bleaching though! Will try that.
Hey Mark! Thank you so much for the videos - I've learnt a lot from them that I apply in my homebrew guitars haha Quick question about the bleaching - can you use water-based finishes over the bleached wenge once it dries? I'm afraid that it might re-dissolve the bleach and then end up messing with the poly finish...
Several different species of similar wood are sold as wenge. Some of those alternate varieties carry a significant resin content. That resin may prevent a good glue joint. To be sure of getting a good glue joint aggressively wipe all glue joint surfaces down with acetone and allow those surfaces to dry.
I was thinking of using some face grain or edge grain for some accents in a cutting board. would this work? would I have to worry about it splintering from use/cleaning?
It’s a good question but don’t worry it works fine in that application. Ease over any of the exposed edges and you’re good. If the edges aren’t exposed, same thing you’re good 👍
I don't know about water based finishes, but solvent based varnish tends to blur the figured grain quite a lot. I usually apply wax rather than a varnish, that will not affect the grain. I also find it hard to glue as this wood is quite dense and doesn't readily absorb wood glue, compared to oak for instance or american cherry...
Mark I enjoy watching your videos. I recently built a bar and decided to put a black Walnut live edge too on it. I'm hoping you can give me some advice on attaching it to the base. The base is 12" wide (double wall) and I have a 5" space between the walls. Would you recommend Z clips etc etc any feedback would be appreciated Thanks in advance
That bleached look is insane!!!! I am totally going to be doing something with this wood! It isn't too expensive from my supplier either at $16 for 4/4 and $21 for 8/4.
@@charlieodom9107 .ok. so the board width is 235millimeters @ 10 inch. Height is 25 mm @ 1 inch ? 4/4 ? The 1 metre long. @ 3 feet 3inchs Does that help? You know us aussies need the work out youtube inches so maybe you could work out the BETTER metric system 🤣
@@timconnell4570 oh, I agree that the Metric system is better, no doubt, but us idiots here in 'Merica are taught the fractional BS they call SAE! I'm curious, is that how your boards are priced, in 1x10x39 inches or so as you listed? We buy in board feet, which is 1x12x12. That is why I'm asking. Also, 4/4, 6/4, 8/4, etc are measurements of thickness.
@@charlieodom9107 we seem to use cube metres. I havent onvestigated board feet. So my formula is..... $Cost ÷ lenght x (width formula ) ÷ 2 Thus i work on a base of 1m x 300mm x 25mm Thus that gives me the wood cost to profice a 50cm x 30cm x25mm board. And the i work out from that. Up or down depending on end dimensions. Thus a 50mm high board is twice as expensive on cost. ' width factor, WF' is based on 300mm. So if i get a lenght of wood thats 150mm wide then the WF is 2. If the width is 235mm wide then the WF is 1.28. Thus 300 ÷ 235 = 1.28 . This determines how much wood o need to make a 300mm width board. This TOTALLY disregards kerf waste. Thus if a board is 50% a wood thats $20 and the other is $40 then its costing you $30. Search chopping boatd pricing. Many good vids on it.
Sir - amazing video. New to woodworking. Love the look of this wood and want to use something like this to frame two large windows in my bedroom. I'm I stupid to use this wood when there is something cheaper available?
I wouldn’t say it’s stupid if it provides the look you want. True, it’s not a cheap way to do it, but nothing else has the same textured look and color of this wood.
I’m having a hard time finding what I need I need a block of Wenge about 4” x 4” x 6” for an old shotgun what would be the best place to look? Your site mostly has boards and places like eBay are much the same I could glue pieces but I want solid grains what would be the best place to find what I’m looking for? Thank you.
Wow… thank you for the prompt response. I forgot to ask… Do you just wipe off the bleach (after 30 min) or do you rinse or neutralize the hypochlorite any other way, prior to “allowing to dry” before applying the Walrus Cutting Board product? Thanks
Would Aqua Coat be ok to fill in the grain for a smooth finish ? I’m curious if it would be cloudy looking or cause any discoloring against that really dark wood ? Like your videos !
I make knives and used Wenge as handles for 3-4 knives. (I got scraps large enough for knife handles but not usable for larger projects). I love Wenge, it makes beautiful knife hanldes, but I can’t use it anymore. Even when I use dust collections and a respirator my body reacts to it. I have cold like symptoms for days and the joints in my hands hurt. Never had issue with splinters though.
African Slabs is a great choice for sourcing your next piece of Wenge or other hardwoods of African origin. They are supremely committed to quality and sustainable sourcing.
Three questions as I happen to be using some Wenger for a coming project and want to try this. Is the bleach diluted at all? Did you rinse it/ wash off the bleach? Did all this moisture raise the grain?
It’s surprisingly simple. Not diluted at all, straight out of the bottle. Don’t even rinse it, just let it dry. The grain will raise a little bit, but just give it a few swipe with 220 grit and you’ll be set.
Wonderful video with loads of insights! I have one question - I hope I'm not far too late to the party. If someone wanted to commit the sin, and try to stain wenge to a jet black, for example to make it even closer to ebony, is there any chance? I see that it's quite an oily wood and probably resists most attempts... I wonder if only the lighter grain would take a black stain. Any experience?
@@WoodworkersSourcecom Thanks for getting back to me! I have a wenge guitar neck coming my way in the nearish future. I have some water based and so solvent based black dye - I'll give it a test on the heel joint and report back!
@@WoodworkersSourcecom Well yesterday it finally came, and I stained it... Took a water based black dye just great. It turned out jet black, so I can confirm it works a treat! My guitar feels and looks excellent!
My Guitar's fretboard is made of wenge and I can't find any specific instructions of how to maintain it. Do I maintain it with lemon oil and fretboard conditioner just like I would do with a rosewood or an ebony fretboard?
I tried making a cutting board out of this with some other hardwood but after planing it I found it to be extremely porous, just like the original stock. Any ideas on how to get that glass finish? Sanding didn’t seem to do much. Lots of little pores for food particles to get trapped in.
I have a couple of questions about bleaching wenge. After bleaching, do you rinse with water? Once you get it to where it's white, or almost white, does using an oil finish give the white an amber tone?
Is bleaching wenge a permanent thing? I've never bleached any wood. I know some of the exotic woods can change color over time, for whatever reasons. Maybe a specific type of finish can prevent that?
is the bleached wood food safe? it seemed like you used regular household bleach, correct? this is kinda odd but i think i’m gonna make a pair of chopsticks out of a spare piece of wenge i have and i’d love to bleach one of them for a kind of yin yang effect lol
