hardwood inlays

I find a great deal of exotics on ebay (cocobolo, paduak, bloodwood).
With some patience, and good timing you can walk away with exactly what
you are after.

Todd

On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 04:42:51 GMT, "John Pilhoefer" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Specifically I am looking for Ebony (1/4" x 3/4" x 7" min. length).

That's not an inlay, that's timber framing !

For those sizes, talk to musical instrument timber suppliers, or tuirning suppliers. You'll also want to either bandsaw
resaw it to size, or have it done for you. Particularly if you're dealing with the musical instrument people, they're
expert at resawing and will probably do it better (but this size is easy anyway).

Ebony is rather brittle, especially in this size. Too small to be strong, too big to be flexible. So don't try running
it through a rotating cutter thicknesser, it'll just emerge as chips. Instead build a Bob Wearing design of hand
thicknesser (read his "jigs and devices" book). This is the working bits of a Stanley #151 spokeshave, mounted above a
flat board. Pull the timber through by hand to thickness it and improve the surface.

Bear in mind that ebony is a conservation issue. There are good reasons to avoid using it. You can substitute african
blackwood for it, which is a perfectly acceptable replacement in these sizes (it's hard to find large pieces that are a
solid black though). Even this is a bit conservation sensitive, so you might wish to use another timber, ebonised for
appearance. Maple, fruitwood or sycamore are popular here.

--
Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

Here is a violin finger board but these guys sem to have lots of material
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bodies,_necks,_wood/Violin:_Fingerboards.html

John Pilhoefer wrote:
> I am looking for an online source for exotic hardwood inlays.
>
> Specifically I am looking for Ebony (1/4" x 3/4" x 7" min. length).
>
> Any help would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> John
>
> --
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> This mailbox protected from junk email by MailFrontier Desktop
> from MailFrontier, Inc. http://info.mailfrontier.com
>
>
>

Find an ebony board 3/4in thick and whatever length you need, and cut
your own 1/2x3/4 strips on the tablesaw

John


On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 04:42:51 GMT, "John Pilhoefer"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I am looking for an online source for exotic hardwood inlays.
>
>Specifically I am looking for Ebony (1/4" x 3/4" x 7" min. length).
>
>Any help would be appreciated.
>
>Thanks,
>John

And you think inlay strips are going to be LESS expensive per board
foot??? Dream on

John
On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 15:36:47 GMT, "Leon"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"John" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Find an ebony board 3/4in thick and whatever length you need, and cut
>> your own 1/2x3/4 strips on the tablesaw
>>
>> John
>
>
>That could be quite expensive. You will be wasting at least $20.00 per BF.
>This stuff typically goes for $60.00 per BF.
>

"Leon" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

>
> "John" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Find an ebony board 3/4in thick and whatever length you need, and cut
>> your own 1/2x3/4 strips on the tablesaw
>>
>> John
>
>
> That could be quite expensive. You will be wasting at least $20.00
> per BF. This stuff typically goes for $60.00 per BF.
>

Hence the practice of 'ebonizing' something like maple. I use Solarlux dye
on the rare occasions I've done it.

Patriarch

If you're near Baltimore, Exotic Hardwoods in Hunt Valley has "scraps" that
size. They will probably mail order.
Mark


"John Pilhoefer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am looking for an online source for exotic hardwood inlays.
>
> Specifically I am looking for Ebony (1/4" x 3/4" x 7" min. length).
>
> Any help would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> John
>
> --
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> This mailbox protected from junk email by MailFrontier Desktop
> from MailFrontier, Inc. http://info.mailfrontier.com
>
>
>

"John" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Find an ebony board 3/4in thick and whatever length you need, and cut
> your own 1/2x3/4 strips on the tablesaw
>
> John


That could be quite expensive. You will be wasting at least $20.00 per BF.
This stuff typically goes for $60.00 per BF.