samhell Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 So I'm cruising through the hardwood place with my single piece of $2 /BF hard maple and I go to the "exotics" isles. Looking at some nice figured woods.... and then I hit the far wall and see all these small (3' - 4') pieces of what looks like plain ebony and other non-exotic looking woods. I look up at the prices and see they are from $90 - $140 / BF!! What the heck? Do people actually use this stuff? If so, what do they use it for? If I bought one of these pieces I'd have to leave it as-is and coat it in poly or something and mount it on the wall. I couldn't bear to put a tool to wood that expensive. And why use a wood that costly when you can use something that looks just about the same for < $20 /BF? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ztifpatrick Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 Well, Gaboon Ebony is great for accents in G&G furniture. Things like ebony plugs that are proud and splines. I must admit I used to use walnut that was ebonized, but when you make a plug out of ebony and buff it with some rouge, it's priceless, really! I bought some recently and it was sold by the pound, $15 a pound, which translates into about $85-$90 a BF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rgraham888 Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 $2 a bf for hard maple? You must be shopping in Vermont! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 I'm with Rob... I stopped reading at "$2/bf hard maple". I'll trade you Nopales for it? At Woodworkers Source near (too near) my work, they have some really nice 2' lengths of Kingwood for over $100/bf. They also have black-as-night (not in winter in Alaska) Ebony for $99/bf (IIRC). Like Chris said, if you are using it for plugs, you don't use much. Those plastic "Ebony" plugs are looking nicer now, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darnell Hagen Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 Ebony is expensive, big pieces with clear grain and no brown steaks more so. All species aren't equal as well, there is a big difference between Macassar, Gaboon, and Ceylon. I couldn't bear to put a tool to wood that expensive Even with a thin kerf blade, each cut is expensive. That's some pricey sawdust! why use a wood that costly when you can use something that looks just about the same Sometimes just about isn't good enough. My best ever wood bargain is a piece of Ceylon ebony I bought for $13, if my daughter keeps up with her violin lessons maybe it'll become a fingerboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samhell Posted April 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 $2 a bf for hard maple? You must be shopping in Vermont! Nope. So. California. It was something like $2.40 for the maple a few months ago when I was there. It was at Austin Hardwoods. Maybe they'll ship you some. Maybe I got a discount piece or something, I dunno. I just wanted a clean piece of hard maple with straight grain for guitar necks. They had a rack of maple and a rack that specifically said hard maple. The two other places I go are like $3.xx Not exactly where you'd expect to find all this wood being that we don't really have any forests for miles around here but I have 3 lumber yards just a short drive from me that I know of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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