Gabon Ebony

[Guest Mahoganus]

I figured what the hay I will try to use some Gabon ebony for my Gamble Bed I'm building and holy cow that stuff is big money and hard to find. I need a board 5 inches wide and at least 1/2 thick.

So now I'm reconsidering using walnut stained Ebony.

Would like to hear some other thoughts, or maybe someone might know where to get a board for less than 100.00

[Guest Mahoganus]

Im roflmao at these prices for ceylon ebony 52.00 a board foot 89.00 a board foot for gabon ebony. Unreal must be one of the most exspensive woods.

[Onboard]

I figured what the hay I will try to use some Gabon ebony for my Gamble Bed I'm building and holy cow that stuff is big money and hard to find. I need a board 5 inches wide and at least 1/2 thick.

So now I'm reconsidering using walnut stained Ebony.

Would like to hear some other thoughts, or maybe someone might know where to get a board for less than 100.00

Are you open to ebonizing a cheaper wood or do you need the black color all the way through the wood? If ebonizing is okay then, here and here are a couple of links to get you started. Also, American Woodworker, Oct/Nov 2010 has an article on ebonizing wood.

By the way, would you please clarify the dimensions. I'm reading 5" wide by 1/2" thick, but don't see a length, unless you mean a 1/2" x 1/2" x 5" length. Thanks.

[iSawitFirst]

Hey, Mahoganus,

Check Bell Forest. They have some smaller pieces here.

[Lawrence Brown]

The thing about ebony is that it's normally just very black and hard. It doesn't even really have any grain to speak of unless you look really close. It's also a pain to work with because it's so brittle, like oak, with nasty dust.

Given all that, I normally will grab something else and stain it black. Not only is it obviously cheaper, but a lot of times it looks better because you can use something with a bit of grain to give it more interest. I haven't used walnut yet, but I would think it would be a good choice because it's hard and already dark to begin with.

I just use trans tint dye straight from the bottle, no dilution. The dye is also expensive, but nowhere near the price of ebony, and a few drops go a long way. For the best finish, I would actually recommend sanding with micromesh pads. I'll generally take it up all the way through to the final 12,000 grit. This will give you a hard, glass finish. Put the dye over that and finish with a bit of wax or urethane or whatever and you have instant ebony.

However: Since you are doing Greene & Greene, I'm assuming you are using it for accent pegs, breadboard ends, and so on. When I'm doing these things, I dig into my stash of ebony pen blanks. Every once in a while Rockler gets a bunch in and sells them for $2-3 a piece. I always stock up on as many as I can. they are basically 1"x1"x6" and work perfectly for that kind of thing. You don't say how long a board you need, only the height and width, so that may or may not help. The normal prices for the ebony blanks are a bit higher, but if you only need a bit, it'll probably still save you some cash.

[Guest Mahoganus]

Are you open to ebonizing a cheaper wood or do you need the black color all the way through the wood? If ebonizing is okay then, here and here are a couple of links to get you started. Also, American Woodworker, Oct/Nov 2010 has an article on ebonizing wood.

By the way, would you please clarify the dimensions. I'm reading 5" wide by 1/2" thick, but don't see a length, unless you mean a 1/2" x 1/2" x 5" length. Thanks.

Thanks onboard I might take this route. 5"x5"x3/8 is the final size I need,, those are for the splines in and on the 45's on the legs.

Hey, Mahoganus,

Check Bell Forest. They have some smaller pieces here.

Great site! Thanks for the link

The thing about ebony is that it's normally just very black and hard. It doesn't even really have any grain to speak of unless you look really close. It's also a pain to work with because it's so brittle, like oak, with nasty dust.

Given all that, I normally will grab something else and stain it black. Not only is it obviously cheaper, but a lot of times it looks better because you can use something with a bit of grain to give it more interest. I haven't used walnut yet, but I would think it would be a good choice because it's hard and already dark to begin with.

I just use trans tint dye straight from the bottle, no dilution. The dye is also expensive, but nowhere near the price of ebony, and a few drops go a long way. For the best finish, I would actually recommend sanding with micromesh pads. I'll generally take it up all the way through to the final 12,000 grit. This will give you a hard, glass finish. Put the dye over that and finish with a bit of wax or urethane or whatever and you have instant ebony.

However: Since you are doing Greene & Greene, I'm assuming you are using it for accent pegs, breadboard ends, and so on. When I'm doing these things, I dig into my stash of ebony pen blanks. Every once in a while Rockler gets a bunch in and sells them for $2-3 a piece. I always stock up on as many as I can. they are basically 1"x1"x6" and work perfectly for that kind of thing. You don't say how long a board you need, only the height and width, so that may or may not help. The normal prices for the ebony blanks are a bit higher, but if you only need a bit, it'll probably still save you some cash.

Thats great information, I wanted the ebony for that polished shine and I figured that shine wasnt possible with other woods or anything softer than ebony. I will try this method with walnut. I have most everything needed.

[PaulMarcel]

M's got a good idea about getting pen blanks; I'll look for some.

I've used Transtint Black dye on a recent project and I didn't like it as much as India ink. India ink is black, so black light doesn't escape. I found that the Transtint black had a slight violet hue. Granted, I applied the Transtint in a topcoat, but I don't think GF Polycrylic would add the violet hue. India ink is also a lot cheaper.

[Guest Mahoganus]

M's got a good idea about getting pen blanks; I'll look for some.

I've used Transtint Black dye on a recent project and I didn't like it as much as India ink. India ink is black, so black light doesn't escape. I found that the Transtint black had a slight violet hue. Granted, I applied the Transtint in a topcoat, but I don't think GF Polycrylic would add the violet hue. India ink is also a lot cheaper.

Yeah the pen blanks could be used for everything but the splines or if I could figure out a easy way to join 2 pen blanks together.

And I was just searching craigslist in Africa for ebony,, no luck

[Guest Mahoganus]

Well after all this,, I broke down and bought some Ebony today. My first piece of wood to buy that was covered in wax

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDOURtxGM40

[iSawitFirst]

Congrats on the waxed board. I'm glad you decided to go first class. You'll find working with Ebony to be both rewarding and a mess.

[Guest Mahoganus]

Congrats on the waxed board. I'm glad you decided to go first class. You'll find working with Ebony to be both rewarding and a mess.

Thank you,, Its been such a good day today,, had a lot of fun. When I was at the wood store I asked him what was the most expensive wood,, he said snake wood,, 226.00 a foot.

[Guest Mahoganus]

Congrats on the waxed board. I'm glad you decided to go first class. You'll find working with Ebony to be both rewarding and a mess.

lol yeah Its funny to see such black chips and man does this ebony have such a funny smell.

[Lawrence Brown]

Something I just thought of:

If the piece you got is waxed, you may want to take a moisture meter or something to it to be sure it's dry. Waxed wood chunks are common for turners to keep the wood from cracking and to keep it semi-green, since it turns easier than dried wood. I've never thought about it much because mine isn't waxed.

That said, I not familiar enough with it's characteristics to know how much the ebony would shrink if it was still green, being it's such a dense wood and all. Anyone else here got better info?

[PaulMarcel]

Good question, M. I have a 5 lbs box of Ebony. None of it is in wax and I know it was dried already, but usually the ebony I find here is all wax coated in the area with bowl and pen blanks. If you removed the wax, could you put it in a drying "kiln" like some chair makers use (insulated foam box with 100W incandecent light)? Be interesting to know since a local hardwood dealer is having a 25% off on exotics sale in 2 weeks

[Guest Mahoganus]

Good question, M. I have a 5 lbs box of Ebony. None of it is in wax and I know it was dried already, but usually the ebony I find here is all wax coated in the area with bowl and pen blanks. If you removed the wax, could you put it in a drying "kiln" like some chair makers use (insulated foam box with 100W incandecent light)? Be interesting to know since a local hardwood dealer is having a 25% off on exotics sale in 2 weeks

probing now

[Lawrence Brown]

I'm guessing that since he's making such small pieces and it's so dense that it won't matter much. I just wanted to bring it up so no one got blind-sided by sudden shrinkage.

[Guest Mahoganus]

I got 4% but the stuff is so hard I could barley get the probes in, I checked the end and side.

Yeah that would suck to get some green ebony and have it shrink up a bunch,, thanks for reminding me.

[PaulMarcel]

Right, but if you're making a plug, friction is your friend and shrinkage might be enough to show gaps. So, good point.

I have extra insulative foam and thought of making a "kiln" like that for small parts. For now allI have to do is take the wood and wave it around in the air in my garage shop

[Lawrence Brown]

Can we all send our wood to your garage for drying? You could make a killing in "authentic Arizona air-dried" lumber

[Guest Mahoganus]

Right, but if you're making a plug, friction is your friend and shrinkage might be enough to show gaps. So, good point.

I have extra insulative foam and thought of making a "kiln" like that for small parts. For now allI have to do is take the wood and wave it around in the air in my garage shop

That would be cool to have,, I hope to soon have a timber king and a solar powered kiln, Its sick to see so many people give away trees on cragslist around here. Im tired of giving the Amish thousands of dollars for wood.

[darrellpeart]

I figured what the hay I will try to use some Gabon ebony for my Gamble Bed I'm building and holy cow that stuff is big money and hard to find. I need a board 5 inches wide and at least 1/2 thick.

So now I'm reconsidering using walnut stained Ebony.

Would like to hear some other thoughts, or maybe someone might know where to get a board for less than 100.00

Hi Mahoganus,

As much as it is painful on the pocket book and oftentimes hard to find - I find the Gabon ebony to be superior to anything else for G&G plugs and splines.

Nothing else will match its warm silky glow when polished -- and the extreme hardness of ebony is a big plus in this case - it holds its form (will not dent) when tapped in place with a plastic headed mallet and will force its shape upon the opening leaving very crisp lines around the perimeter of the inlay.

[Guest Mahoganus]

Hi Mahoganus,

As much as it is painful on the pocket book and oftentimes hard to find - I find the Gabon ebony to be superior to anything else for G&G plugs and splines.

Nothing else will match its warm silky glow when polished -- and the extreme hardness of ebony is a big plus in this case - it holds its form (will not dent) when tapped in place with a plastic headed mallet and will force its shape upon the opening leaving very crisp lines around the perimeter of the inlay.

Hi Darrell

Yes sir,, thats what Im finding out and so far I love the ebony just like you say. I got a hammer and my dado shim(just like ya say in your book) works just perfect.

Thanks for your input,especially from the G&G master