This was a bit of a guilty pleasure  . . . Rosewood, Ebony and Pearwood.  The box was veneered, but the stand is made of solid Gaboon Ebony.  Some friends gave me the Kingwood and the Pear, and from a little bit of material I was able to create the volume of material to veneer the box.  I lucked out and got a piece of rift 8/4 Gaboon for a song that I used to make the stand.

 

Responses to Questions:

Relayer: 

Good question, “how do you get ebony for a song?” Answer: being in the right place at the right time for once.  Finding good lumber is like playing scratch tickets; it’s just luck and you’ve got to play to win (or so the Pennsylvania Lottery likes to remind me).  A couple of years ago I stopped in to a hardwood dealer in San Leandro, CA.  That’s where I found the board.  It was perfectly rift sawn and unchecked.  They offered a sweet student discount (I was at the College of the Redwoods at the time) which I gladly took them up on.  From what I the hear dealer doesn’t even sell furniture grade lumber anymore: they’re into truck decking.  Bummer.

 

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