Where to get black wood??????

[Mike Svoma]

I am planning on making a lamp for my nephew as a house warming gift. The lamp will mimic the color scheme of the '67 Camaro that he rebuilt in that it will have the orange (Paduak) with black stripes as on the hood. I am suck as to which wood to use for the black stripes. See the pictures below.

Please help!!!

Thanks

Mike


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[Dan Hintz]

No expert here, but African Ebony seems like a logical choice. Or you could go with an oak that has been vinegar/iron treated for the ultimate in black dye.

[Scott Hackler]

I'ld say you would be better off with a naturally black(ish) wood than the vinegar trick. Mainly because the darkening process might not penatrate the thickness required for the turned diameter. African Blackwood or Ebony would be my suggestions.

[Montgomery Scott]

For the veneer you can use black dyed costello. For the wider stripes you can use gabon ebony, nigerian ebony or madagascar ebony. Any other type of ebony will likely not be black enough or have brown streaks or stripes.

[Prashun Patel]

Does padauk react with the vinegar/iron? If not, you can treat it after it's turned.

Personally, I think ebony'd be hard to turn and pretty expensive and heavy. Plus it feels like a waste to turn so much of it away.

How about wenge?

[Jon McElwain]

I have turned gaboon ebony before. If you do go the ebony route, be sure you wear a respirator! I sanded the ebony on the lathe for just a minute or two without a respirator or even a mask (not at all my normal practice - especially with exotics) and the dust reacted in my sinuses severely. I started sneezing within 3-4 minutes of exposure, and it took an hour for the effect to fully dissipate. All this from less than 2 minutes exposure.

Anyway, all that said, the wood is hard but turns well (with very sharp tools) and it finishes even better. Worth the $$ and the effort, just do it right.

[Gary Max]

Or if you live in the USA you could always go with Tx Ebony

[David E Keller]

I'd use African blackwood over ebony just for the ease of turning and less cracking potential. Their both expensive, but the blackwood seems to be a little cheaper. Unless you go with some type of dye after turning, it's gonna be a pretty expensive lamp... None of the true black woods are cheap.

I forgot about Texas ebony... Not as black as the others, but you might be able to get some cheaper than the imported stuff. There was a guy on IAP selling lots of Texas ebony a few months back.

[Bill Davis]

Haven't done turning but have done several projects using a sometimes very black wood available here in the Philippines called Kamagong. It is from the ebony family (Diospyros blancoi ) (http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?313076), and is readily available here quite reasonably. May not be there. Last time in the states I saw a piece of Makassar Ebony at $80 per bd-ft. Hope you can find a solution to complement the Paduak.