On this macassar ebony fingerboard that I planed too thin (see the "oops"
thread), one of the things that struck me is a "figure" that appeared in the
wood. This is my first time working with ebony. I was wondering if
anyone will recognize what I describe and can tell me anything about it:
The "figure" was a series of very faint "stripes" about 1/4-3/8" wide, 1/2"
or so apart, stretching across the board at rougly a 45 degree angle
(actually probably less- more like 30 degrees from a line perpendicular to
the length of the board). They strike me as almost a difference in luster
more than anything else, appearing duller than the wood in between. It
appears on both sides of the board.
At first I thought it was a weird tearout problem from planing, but it
persists no matter which direction I plane, and I ran it through my
neighbor's thicknesser which put a glassy surface on it and the
stripes are still there.
The only other thought I have is that it could be a very "loose" curl. The
only problem with that theory is that in maple, the curl has an almost
irridescent (sp?) quality - if anything, appearing more lustrous than the
wood in between. The figure in this ebony is opposite that.
I wish for anything I could capture a decent shot with my digital camera.
Unfortunately, my wife has the camera with her!
Have you seen this before, and if so, what am I looking at? It really struck
both my neighbor and I as kind of strange.