Leopard Wood and Ebony bowls

[scott ward]

These were Christmas presents for my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. It was my first time working with ebony. It was a fun wood to polish up.
The larger is about 12 inches and the smaller is about 8 inches.

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[daryl moses]

Very nice, i'm sure your in laws were thrilled.

[Richard Madden]

Very nice. I'm sure they will be appreciated.

[Reed Gray]

Nice pieces. A question about the leopard wood... Can't remember, but it looks a lot like the Australian lace wood, but isn't it a lot harder/denser?

robo hippy

[scott ward]

Reed, I know they get confused but I haven’t ever worked with lacewood. I do know this leopardwood is heavy. I had to make sure my gouge was very sharp or I would get tear out. I made some identical sized bowls out of walnut and they are much lighter than the leopardwood.

Thank you for the nice comments. And yes they were very pleased. But I shot myself in the foot because now all my other family members want one.

[Jon Kurtz]

Those are outstanding. Any chance you have any photos of the glue up prior to turning?

[John K Jordan]

Nice pieces. A question about the leopard wood... Can't remember, but it looks a lot like the Australian lace wood, but isn't it a lot harder/denser?

robo hippy

The leopard wood I have has much larger ray fleck than the lacewood in my stash. However, I don't know where in the world either came from and can't verify the exact species. My lacewood is lighter in weight.

Nice pieces Scott. I love working with ebony. I rarely use any finish but just polish the wood.

JKJ

[Reed Gray]

I think the leopard wood is a South American variety. The Lace Wood tends to be very splintery, and the rays are very soft so you get very 3D when you sand. I would guess, from the one piece of leopard wood I picked up that it is almost twice as heavy as lacewood...

robo hippy

[Sid Matheny]

Yes those do look great!!!

[scott ward]

Those are outstanding. Any chance you have any photos of the glue up prior to turning?
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The only picture I have is just prior to turning the main glue up prior to gluing the ebony.