# Working with Wenge



## TheWoodenOyster (Feb 6, 2013)

Hey guys,

I am doing a project this weekend with some wenge. I know it can be pretty nasty stuff to work with, so I figured I would ask some more seasoned LJ's for some tips.

How bad is the dust?
How bad are the splinters?
How does it machine?
How does it treat hand tools?
Any other tips?

Thanks


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## MarkSr (Oct 14, 2012)

TheWoodenOyster, not much of help, but what is "wenge". I'm new at this too, but I have never heard of it.


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## mbs (May 8, 2010)

I had the same concerns. Recently finished some end tables.

Dust is very bad. Use a good dust collector and wear a mask.

It's not hard to cut with a good blade/bits but it is not easy to work with hand tools. Wenge is slow to sand.

It splinters easily.

Handle it as little as possible to minimize splintering.

It's beautiful when finished.


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## BigYin (Oct 14, 2011)

Wear a mask for dust. Wear gloves for splinters.
Ifyou have dust filtration and/or dust collection use them.
Sawdust and shavings have never caused me problems but suggest you clean up as you go.
Do not have sharp finished edges that may allow splinters.
Apply a coat of oil to make grain pop.


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## TheWoodenOyster (Feb 6, 2013)

Thanks for the info guys.

MarkSr - wenge is a very dark, almost black African wood. It is a coarse wood and though it can finish well, it is pretty hard to handle. But, you do get the "ebony" coloring without paying as high of a price. The reason I asked about the health issues is because it is pretty well known as one of the most unfriendly woods to work with. The splinters go septic, the dust is nasty, and from my 3 minute handplane session, I can tell you that the shavings smell like a dumpster fire.


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## BTimmons (Aug 6, 2011)

The add on to what TheWoodenOyster said:

When he says that splinters can go septic, that deserves extra emphasis. *Sepsis means contracting blood poisoning, which can be hard to treat and is sometimes fatal.*

I repeat, *SOMETIMES FATAL.*

It's beautiful wood, but that stuff can kill you if you're not careful.


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## TheWoodenOyster (Feb 6, 2013)

BTimmons,

You are kind of freaking me out a little bit. I mean, I figured they were worse than most splinters. I don't really want to die making a croquet mallet though. Should I think twice before I start messing with this stuff? It sounds like VX nerve gas to me…


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## darinS (Jul 20, 2010)

This might give a little more information

http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/wenge/


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## nmssis (Sep 14, 2015)

> This might give a little more information
> 
> http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/wenge/
> 
> - darinS


eek!!!

Just bought some today that were in a scrap bin…btw, what kinda glove would protect from splinters?


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## KelleyCrafts (May 17, 2016)

I just finished building my shooting board plane with this stuff (in my projects). What a pain!

Splinterss suck, I didn't wear gloves because I didn't know better. Definitely had splinters, lots of splinters. Definitely drew a little blood too but not much. There are still spots on my hands where I got splinters a couple weeks ago but no major damage or sickness or infection. I'm a horse though, I haven't missed a day of work for being sick in a few years. Some others might have a worse reaction. Tear out was horrible as well. I might build something with my scraps from the plane but probably will try not to find a need to buy anymore ever again. Wasn't fun.


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## Mikesawdust (Jan 29, 2010)

watch the splinters, they hurt, break off inside and infect quickly. I only had a couple get me and they were shallow but not fun


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## nmssis (Sep 14, 2015)

> I just finished building my shooting board plane with this stuff (in my projects). What a pain!
> 
> Splinterss suck, I didn t wear gloves because I didn t know better. Definitely had splinters, lots of splinters. Definitely drew a little blood too but not much. There are still spots on my hands where I got splinters a couple weeks ago but no major damage or sickness or infection. I m a horse though, I haven t missed a day of work for being sick in a few years. Some others might have a worse reaction. Tear out was horrible as well. I might build something with my scraps from the plane but probably will try not to find a need to buy anymore ever again. Wasn t fun.
> 
> - ki7hy





> watch the splinters, they hurt, break off inside and infect quickly. I only had a couple get me and they were shallow but not fun
> 
> - Mikesawdust


so if you had to work with wenge again and chose to wear gloves, what kinda gloves would you use?


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## CajunWoodArtist (Oct 27, 2015)

I have used wenge in a lot of projects and have yet to have a problem. I use good dust collection and caautious carefulness when handling. Always be


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## KelleyCrafts (May 17, 2016)

nmssis, leather gloves I suppose would stop splinters the best but I think you just need to be careful. I don't think this stuff is going to kill anyone, just pull the splinters completely and clean area right away and you should be fine.

In other words take care of yourself. BTimmons sounds like he's trying to scare you, sounds like my mother when I was 5. Just be cautious and clean your wounds and pay attention to how you feel/look as time progresses. If you feel the need to go to the Dr. don't hesitate. Personally I would choose something else in the future but not for the splinters in my skin, just the pain it is to work with. Was almost like palm which kind of sucks too.


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## nmssis (Sep 14, 2015)

thanks for the feedback!

saw a finished wenge block at the shop and looked so yummy did not think things through


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## LiveEdge (Dec 18, 2013)

I think people are getting a little carried away here. I've worked with it and not had trouble. It does smell bad when cutting and wearing dust protection is important with all wood. I wear gloves all the time because I have contact sensitivities, but I've not had trouble with splinters. There is also a difference between "festering" (a local infection) and "sepsis" (a systemic infection) (BTW, I'm an MD).


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## KelleyCrafts (May 17, 2016)

Wait LiveEdge, didn't you see the article the other day about the guy who died from a wenge splinter? I wouldn't underestimate this massive killer. Reports show wenge is the second leading killer world wide next to car accidents but almost double smoking deaths.


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## michaelinthebasement (Apr 24, 2015)

I'm no pro, but I am working on my first project using wenge right now. I never noticed any odor issue, but I am pretty consistent with my use of a dusk mask and dust collector. For the most part, I haven't seen any splinters. The wood works very nicely. It was easy to get smooth surfaces and sharp corners from the planer, sander and table saw. Of course there are no substitutes for sharp tools and meticulous technique.

There was that one incident at the router table, though. One little slip and I saw a router table blow-out like I've never seen before. And then there were a lot of splinters.

I'm glad I didn't see this post before working on this project, otherwise I might have shied away from the wenge. But as it is, based on my experience, I'm going to keep using it.


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## nmssis (Sep 14, 2015)

Well, I guess it's my time to take a leap of faith…lol will be using hand planes n such…

Thanks everyone!


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## AandCstyle (Mar 21, 2012)

I have used about 10 bdft of wenge and have not had any problems with it whatsoever. Maybe I have been lucky or maybe it isn't really wenge.  I have read that you can get slivers just walking by it but that has not been my experience. I don't like the way the saw dust sticks to everything however.


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## jwmalone (Jun 23, 2016)

I've got to get me some of this wood. I'm going to make a rustic rocking chair for my ex.  With nice crisp edges.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

I've worked with it and it as not nearly as bad a cocabolo. It is a little bit brittle, but machines well. Wear a dust mask and when you get a splinter, they are irritating and you will want to get them out fairly soon.


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## nmssis (Sep 14, 2015)

> I have used about 10 bdft of wenge and have not had any problems with it whatsoever. Maybe I have been lucky or maybe it isn t really wenge.  I have read that you can get slivers just walking by it but that has not been my experience. I don t like the way the saw dust sticks to everything however.
> 
> - AandCstyle


would you use naptha n rag to clean?


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

I work it all the time, no issues really but splinters can be a problem.


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## AandCstyle (Mar 21, 2012)

> Would you use naptha n rag to clean?
> 
> - nmssis


I never have and have not had any issues.


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## zjll (Aug 16, 2016)

Many years ago I carved an apron for a huge dining table, about 12'x5' or so for a furniture maker in Santa Barbara. Simple carving, kind of continuing fish scales. Don't remember how many cuts…few thousands. As others said, it splinters easily and I did sharpen my chisels frequently as each cut had to be perfect (no repairs). The final result was beautiful.


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## nmssis (Sep 14, 2015)

so…immense amt of patients and sand papers?


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## logboy73 (Jul 23, 2009)

The splinters hurt like hell so you'll know when you get one and you'll want to dig it out right away. I've never had a problem with the dust. The wood is very heavy, dense and brittle. It can be pretty troublesome to keep the edges from breaking off. Do your best to hit the edges with a round over bit.


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## LiveEdge (Dec 18, 2013)

BTW, the dark color of Wenge seems to be an oxidative process rather than a UV one. I built a jewelry box with some and at first there was a real light and dark mix on some of the cut wood. Over the last two years that has blackened to what we think Wenge normally looks like. It doesn't seem to be caused by light as the box is closed most of the time.

Wenge Jewelry Box


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## nmssis (Sep 14, 2015)

> BTW, the dark color of Wenge seems to be an oxidative process rather than a UV one. I built a jewelry box with some and at first there was a real light and dark mix on some of the cut wood. Over the last two years that has blackened to what we think Wenge normally looks like. It doesn t seem to be caused by light as the box is closed most of the time.
> 
> Wenge Jewelry Box
> 
> ...


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## LiveEdge (Dec 18, 2013)

I wish I knew…


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## gargey (Apr 11, 2016)

Did you not hear how Ryan Lochte was going for walk in Brazil and got held at gunpoint by a piece of Wenge?


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## PineSucks (Aug 3, 2015)

Guns don't kill people.
Wenge kills people.


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## unbob (Mar 10, 2013)

I am making a rifle case out of this wood. I am also hand planing it after re-sawing. It seems to be much like hickory but denser. It cuts fairly rapidly with my really heavy Wards Master #7 plane with a radius or curved blade, then cleans up really smooth with my #8. I have heard the warnings on splinters and dust, and avoiding as much machine work and sanding as possible.
The project is a duplicate of an existing case, even though the wood is very thin, the case is pretty heavy.


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## Gorgorgathgorgorgor (Jul 13, 2018)

I picked up some wenge to build a bass neck, and got some nasty splinters just handling it at the lumber yard. The splinters are no joke! Quite painful, and these were tiny! I definitely plan on wearing gloves when I go to work it.


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## PeteStaehling (May 3, 2015)

I have been using it for fingerboards on musical instruments and find that it polishes up really nicely with no finish applied. It maintains the two tone brown/black color at least initially, while most finishes I have used turn it black right away. Not sure how quickly or if it ever turns all black given that treatment.

I have some wenge that has been polished and sitting for as long as a year and I have not noticed it changing color drastically. I am guessing that it might turn black on the fingerboards from the players greasy fingers, but I have not heard that from the ones that went out to customers. They get shipped all over the world with very few local sales so unless someone bothers to email me I wouldn't know.

BTW yes it is a little splintery, but I don't find it too bad to work with. As far as how it turns… I have only did one little piece of it on the lathe. It went fine though.


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## CaptainKlutz (Apr 23, 2014)

+1 Splinters easy, need gloves. I use cheap mechanics gloves from HF, and reduce splinters by 95%.
+1 Smells unpleasant during sanding, week old bitter/sour coffee bad kind of smell; need dust collection.

IMHO - Difficulty working with Wenge depends on grain direction.
Straight grain wood behaves like other course grain woods, such as oak. Can cut/route with minimal issues using sharp carbide tools.
Irregular grain requires much more planning. 
If board is cut such that grain sort of exits on edges, then it acts like edge grain; and can result in tear out or chipping. This is also where you get most splinters handling wood! When using router bits, have to carefully select cut direction (or use reverse direction cutting technique) to avoid cutting profile against grain. Routing wenge I have best luck cutting profile in several light passes, at highest speeds, with sharp bits, as even simple rounding bits will easily splinter or tear out at grain boundary layers if you try to cut too deep in one pass.

Best Luck.


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## 000 (Dec 9, 2015)

> This is the quickest, easiest and smartest way to build the project you desire.
> 
> https://tinyurl.com/y8gkg6vz
> 
> - kjalal


Teds plans..don't open


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## BurlyBob (Mar 13, 2012)

I flagged that joker a few minutes ago.


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## Knockonit (Nov 5, 2017)

good info here, had no idea on the wenge, i knew about mansonia, (spelling) as it made me sicker than i want to relate too about 30 years ago.

i scored some of this wenge was planing on using as accent pieces in some boxes. i'll pay close attention to working it
Rj

thanks all


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