Awed by ebony slabs

[Scott Rollins]

I saw these chunks of ebony at my local supplier this week. I have never seen it like this. Sorry for the poor quality picture from my phone.

[David DeCristoforo]

Those look like some mighty fine chess pieces.....

[Jim Tobias]

Scott,
I have actually bought any ebony that I have used in slabs just like that. You can buy it by the lb. from Tropical Exotic hardwoods of Latin America. One slab will last me a year or more since I am only using it for accents or inlays, etc.
It is cheaper in the long run to by it this way as long as you don't mind spending the time to resaw and sand it to fit your needs.

Jim

[Montgomery Scott]

Biggest one I ever saw was at a local Rockler over a decade ago. It was an entire log section 4' long and about 16" diameter. They only wanted $9,000 for it. Ebony is nice, but I prefer African blackwood.

[Chris Padilla]

Did you try lifting a chunk up? So heavy...like a chunk of steel....

[Evan Galipeau]

I bought a big hunk of ebony like that a while ago. It actually started to split significantly. Just something to be aware of when buying large hunk of ebony.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Guy where I used to work spent a lot of time in Africa and has a chair in his office that is carved from two pieces of ebony. Can't say much about the craftsmanship (it's not a conventional chair) but doubt I will ever see larger pieces of ebony. The back is probably sixteen inches wide and is a single piece.