phinds

And just to be clear, this is NOT a 100% guarantee that it is Texas ebony, but it is a guarantee that it is not lignum vitae or katalox. My bet is very strongly that it IS Texas ebony but I don't like to imply a 100% ID unless I can see the end grain better.

Yes, they say Texas ebony, not lignum vitae and definitely not katalox.

What do you base that on? I'm not saying you're wrong, since katalox is at least a possibility, but the sapwood does seem small for katalox but right for Texas ebony plus the color makes Texas ebony more likely (but does not absolutely rule out katalox). Coop, is there any chance you could get a very close hi-res pic of the end grain? Texas ebony and katalox are easy to tell apart that way.

Not a snowballs chance in hell

Texas ebony http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/texas ebony.htm

Well, perfect for some applications, but wasteful and time-consuming in the production process which is why it is rarely done.

Nice to see someone doing true quartersawn on all pieces. Almost all millers do quarterCUTTING and then call it quartersawn, which it is not after the first plank through the middle. Quartersawing produces rift cut very quickly, not quartersawn cut. The terminology of course adds to the confusion.

boccote

At the very LEAST get some well-focused pics. From what I can tell from these unfocused pics, I'd hazard a guess that it is indeed wood.

top one looks like elm burl

Cool. Thanks for posting

Thanks for the effort, but no, they don't. Look at my site to see what I mean by good end grain pics. I don't expect the kind of results I get but something a lot closer than what you have. EDIT: I should also add that what you DO show is at least consistent with walnut.

in the top pic, the one on the left and the one on the right definitely look like walnut. The one in the middle less so but in the 3rd pic down, showing its bark, that looks exactly like some butternut bark I've seen and butternut is a very close relative to walnut. Need good end grain pics to tell more.

@gee-dub I like your avatar. Enjoyed the series

Since this thread is 5 years old, he either knows that by now or has lost interest in the wood or both