Replies

1. 
   hammer1 | May 01, 2010 09:33pm | #1

   You should be able to tell just by the weight. You could toss it in the swimming pool, ebony is the only wood I'm aware of that will sink.

1. 
   BruceS | May 02, 2010 08:32pm | #3

   Lignun Vitea falls into the heavier than water catagory too,  and Ipe is very close at .85 to .97 spacific gravity.

   But another species just came to mind.  African Blackwood is nice to turn but very dusty and polishes well.  It used to be falsely called ebony and some still do.  Its sp is 1.0-1.2

2. 
   roc | May 02, 2010 06:22pm | #2

   Pick one

   Three answers come to mind :

   1.  Who cares sell it as ebony and go on a world cruise with the money.  During the trip stop off for more ebony.

   2.  See the book What Wood is That by Herbert L. Edlin  has an actual sample of ebony ( mine is not black but brown and black ) and compare with serious magnification.

   3.  Take the wood to a musical instrument maker to identify it.  They may also buy it from you see # 1.

3. 
   Acer_sp | May 06, 2010 05:39pm | #4

   So the actual measurments are 8" X 7/8" X 45"   so we have 270 cubic inches or 0.2112 cubic feet; with a weight of 12lbs.

   I'm not submerging it in water to see if it floats and or sinks, the local mills are telling me "maybe could be ebony"

   So I got myself a nice piece of Ebony. For those that are interested I found it in a small pile of planks that came from the holds of ocean frieghters that load up at a steel plant where I live. My late father-in-law worked there and brought it home years ago.

1. 
   roc | May 06, 2010 10:23pm | #5

   aahdnO

   Iron is used to make wood turn black.  If it was in there with damp/water and all that iron for years and years might be just chemically "dyed" black.  Have you cut or planed it to verify it isn't different at its core ?