Guys, I need to find a piece of ebony, I'd prefer 4/4 to 6/4 and around 6" x 36" inches or somewhat close to that.....would appreciate a price and a picture of what you have.....
Thanks,
Larry
Thanks,
Larry
Ebony
- Thread starter larry C
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Are you independently wealthy ?
Yea I was thinking the same thing, big chunks like that are a premium. Could you use smaller pieces Larry? More available and cheaper....Are you independently wealthy ?
Paul and Barry has a point Larry. Luthiers fight for that dimension- 4/4 in what you want will set you back over $ 200 plus retail. Go up to 6/4, you probably are going up to $ 300 plus. Now all ebony is not created equal depending what species you are looking into. Several of them are in the CITES appendix/restriction list- “Ceylon ebony from India”, Malagasy ebony and Madagascar ebony. They are non diaspyros that can be substituted if you just need it to look the part and not play the part (musically speaking). Ebony also is prone to checking.
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For that price I might be tempted to try some persimmon. It’s in the ebony family, but much cheaper to get. Wonder if it could be dyed black using a vacuum so it penetrates deeply?
To be honest I have not seen ebony in those dimensions in quite a while. Like others said already that will be an expensive buy. I remember the last time I bought ebony a 1"x6"x16" set me back like 80 euros
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- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #8
I don't think so, but I have a customer who wants me to make an urn for his creaming. I have a piece like I described, but I really don't want to start the project until I'm sure I have enough material.Are you independently wealthy ?
I've been making segmented urns for the past several months.
it has been done
I had to chuckle at myself when I saw that because EVERY time I see it I think, OK this guy is emphasizing his honesty in THIS instance so he must be basically dishonest other times. I KNOW it's just a figure of speech but I can't help myself.
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- #11
Here's the deal, Mike, I've got enough ebony for about 3/4 of the urn I'm making for a customer. If I could find enough persimmon for the entire
project, I would buy that. I understand ebony is expensive, but I like to keep a board or two in stock for special customers. Most of the work I've
been doing lately, is segment work, I usually use ebony for accent, but this person wants the entire urn of ebony......to each his own, I guess
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- #12
Karl, this customer insists on ebony, so I have to try to accommodate him, however, I would be interested in some persimmon, if you know who my have some, please let me know....thanks
Larry
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- #13
Good idea, if you have suggestions on where to buy from, I'd appreciate your help. The only reason I was trying to find a little longer pieces is because this is going to be a segmented urn, and I get better yield with longer pieces. However, I'm getting to the point where I'll take what I can get.
Larry
Larry- Hearne Hardwood for the Gabon ebony. You have to call them and let them know what you are looking for as far as dimensions, cut and color- important to specify if you want it all black or if you want steaks. This is really important too- it doesn’t mean it is black that it was milled with proper orientation. Stay away from flat sawn material- trust me on this as it shrinks and it will cup. When you get it too- expect hair line checks, lots of pin holes, not unless it is instrument grade. It will be difficult to find planks that wide and that long, especially 6/4. I have kind of a rule when using ebony and large amount of guitar builders adhere to this on air dried ebony- naturally air dried and seasoning for at least 10 years. You let all the stress out, shrinking and any movement or checking it will do within that period of time.
If you want the look of ebony, the slickness and that glass polish look- there is African blackwood. If you are looking for looks and less maintenance as well as you not have to deal with checking/repairs. The African Blackwood is a really good substitute and a hair cheaper. It also has great chatoyance for a dark wood. YMMV.
+1 on that.
Larry- I have 2 good friends who likes the look of ebony, but not so thrilled about it’s fragility as it is known to check (hairlines and usually filled with ebony dust and cyano or epoxy). So I suggested African Blackwood to them as fretboard material. This happened in about a 10 year span. One of my friends wanted a guitar build from a luthier and consulted with me and another followed a
decade later. Guitar builds are expensive so I offered to donate all the woods for his custom build- Honduran mahogany body, neck, Eastern flame maple and the African Blackwood fretboard. This was close to a master grade you will get and it has really fine grain lines- they look like striations. Once you put a finish on it say on a guitar back and sides- it will look jet black. Not trying to steer you away, but giving you an option should it becomes incredibly difficult to source the size that you need.
Here is another example of the African Blackwood for color reference- this was from a second build for another friend:
decade later. Guitar builds are expensive so I offered to donate all the woods for his custom build- Honduran mahogany body, neck, Eastern flame maple and the African Blackwood fretboard. This was close to a master grade you will get and it has really fine grain lines- they look like striations. Once you put a finish on it say on a guitar back and sides- it will look jet black. Not trying to steer you away, but giving you an option should it becomes incredibly difficult to source the size that you need.
Here is another example of the African Blackwood for color reference- this was from a second build for another friend:
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I have enough dry Persimmon to do 10- 20 of those
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- #19
Thanks Arn, I have used African blackwood, I didn't think of that.......
PM coming your way in a minute er so.
High quality India ink is the typical formula use to dye splotchy ebony as well as rosewood if you want it uniformly jet black. Prep the surface- wipe with naphtha and 600 to 800 grit before application.
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