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Bit of an unusual request, here. I'm looking for enough ebony to build a neck-through super strat. Specifically, looking for the real black stuff, not so much Macassar. One piece long enough to do a neck-through (roughly 3" x 40+"), two pieces large enough to do body sides (the whole guitar will be around 13" wide) with a fairly long top horn. All pieces about 2" thick.

Told you it was an unusual request...

You'd better put wheels on it. I've not seen ebony in pieces that large, but someone around here probably has. Ebony that large would also be out of my budget. Sure would be pretty, though, and I'd be interested in seeing the final product.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

I honestly don't think you'll find completely black ebony that big, no matter how much money you throw at the problem.
I've seen some pieces in a local lumber yard that might come close to your size requirements, but they are not totally black, by any means. The prices on those pieces of not-completely-black ebony are so high, they have been there for years (we're talking about $130 a board foot here....).

Your best bet would be to find some nice straight grained dense/hard maple or ash, and ebonize it (using vinegar and steel wool - let me know if you don't know this technique). If you do it right, Joe public won't know it's not real ebony. If you get the right pieces of dense hardwood, the density will be almost the same also.

Good luck,
Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

If you happen by the yard, could you get me the information? No big hurry on this -- it's sort of a special project.



Thanks, but maple cobbled up with iron oxide won't cut it; the user already has several eastern hard rock maple guitars. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

It'll be a bit heavy, but the user is used to guitars like the Yamaha SG2000, Ibanez Artist AR300's, and has a Moonstone Vulcan with a body made of a single hunk of extremely dense maple burl with a maple set neck. Weight's not a factor. Built like a linebacker.

There is usually someone selling ebony logs on eBay. I just looked, and found several. Some of it is Texas ebony. That particular one is for 2 logs that are 6 feet long. There are also several billets, but none as long as you are looking for right now. Perhaps if you contacted one of them you might be able to find what you are looking for.

type in "ebony log" into your search window in ebay.

Good luck!

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Reguards,

Ken H

Try some of the larger hardwood specialists, especially on the east coast (google is your friend!). I have brought in pieces that large for customers before. You will be looking at a few hundred dollars but my concern is not the money but the weight, as has already been mentioned, this guitar will weigh WAY more than any maple guitar you have ever seen and a lot more than you really expected. Heavy maple is about 40 lb/cu ft while average ebony is 63 lb/ cu ft. You will really notice that difference. Another dark wood alternative that has been used with excellent results is wenge. It is relatively widely availbale, reasonably priced and a bit lighter than ebony at about 55 lb/cu ft.

Good luck though!

Shane

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Canada

Try Gilmer in Portland OR.for lumber.
Hope he likes extra crispy, but it should ring like a 9ft grand piano.
good luck

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How long is that in luthyears?

It's unique, but not without precedence. The weight issue is irrelevant except to your customer who is fully aware of what he is ordering. I have provided solid Mac ebony neck and body wood as well as solid ziricote neck and body wood to Omni Guitars in Australia. His guitar designs are relatively small (like yours) which reduces the weight significantly in proportion.

The real issue is quality. While Mac ebony is available in large sizes good black ebony in that size range is often not completely dry and loaded with fine checks. If it's coated in wax expect it to be wet and you'll need to expose it to air to start the drying process. Purpose of heavy wax coatings is to get it in the hands of a buyer before it falls apart.

Good luck on the hunt, but you can certainly do it and keep in mind you might need to switch to a darker mac ebony eventually for quality issues.

oh....."Texas ebony" is local vernacular for a wood that is not ebony.

Interesting subject i missed this one.

Larry as allways is completly right it is possable to get ebony logs that long and wide etc but almost always the first 5 inches is riddled with shakes radiating out from the heart.

The best wood comes from the center of these logs hence the limited width and length of the stuff.

I could probably source what you are after and quite probably have some billets that long here in my yard.
but whether i could find a 3"x40"x2" peice for the neck that was clear of shakes i seriously doubt.
African ebony is not only prone to checking it is increadably brittle and i would be worried about using it for a neck becouse any shock could cause unwanted cracks very easily.

I have sold lots of macassar ebony for necks and i actualy realy like it for electric guitars.
It is not as brittle and less prone to checks.
Its also a little lighter and a lot cheaper.
I think Black machine guitars use macassar ebony for necks with the principle that a denser neck wood ads to the sustain of the guitar somehow (something to do with the low damping of the string vibrations).

You can get mac ebony that is allmost completly black but this doesent usualy make it to the wood dealers becouse everyone expects mac ebony to be striped (the complete opposite of what they want from african ebony go figure)
If you could find some plain mac ebony it might save you some money and be more suitable.

Another option could be african black wood.
I dont think you would have trouble getting your dimensions and being a true rosewood it might be more suitable but you will pay through the nose for it.

Anyway good luck i would love to see the finished product.

Joel.

There's a hardwood dealer in Calgary, Canada that I frequent called Blackforest Woods.

http://www.blackforestwood.com/

I've admired a chunk of black ebony that's been there for a couple of years. From memory, about 4" x 6" x 3' or 4' long. A few hundred dollars for sure plus the shipping. Might be worth it to drop them a note and ask about checks etc. It's kind of hiding under a high shelf and I've never pulled it out to take a good look at it.