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Pitiful that I don't want to cut this up because it makes such a nice "hold down".
Needless to say I prefer hard Rosewood for fret boards.

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Hmmm...

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

well...it might come down to what your customers prefer

IF you don't want it I'll take it

Sure! Do you have a similar block of Brazilian to swap?

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fretboards
bridges
headplates
backplates
tuner knobs
bridge pins
nuts
rosette pieces
endgrafts
manzer wedges
back strips
binding
inlay pieces
neck bolt plugs
laminated neck pieces
truss rod cover plate
neck block cover plate
neck heel end veneer

etc...

I was just joking. I do have some BRW FB blanks but those are keepers.

I was joking too. Pitch black Ebony is like money in the bank, right?

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Yup it sure is! It's beautiful stuff more so than gold.

yep (3 actually)
nope, not even close to an even trade

David Newton wrote:
Sure! Do you have a similar block of Brazilian to swap?

Mike _P wrote:
yep (3 actually)
nope, not even close to an even trade "

This is somewhat ironic. In the not too distant past ebony was the more desirable of the two woods for fretboards. I still prefer it.

I love ebony for everything but the neck and soundboard. I hate dealing with bending it and using it as bindings but it seems I can never resist!

If I had a piece like that sitting around, I couldn't help myself but to plane it down a little to see what's hiding under there!

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Pat

I'm with you Pat, I do that all the time myself!

I bought 2 blocks at the same time from the same seller, some years ago, guaranteed blemish free.
I have cut the other one up as needed, so I know what is "under there".
Pure black.

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Nasty that, waving it under our noses then pulling it away.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I used to have 5-6 boards 4-1/2" plus by 2' and solid black that I used for F5 mandolin pegheads...all gone. Quality of ebony has really deteriorated in the last 8-10 years.
At least the price has gone up.

Really! That is sort of what I intended.
When I get visitors to the shop that are interested in exotic woods, I say "pick that piece up" and it is pretty impressive, the weight.

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Violin fingerboards


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Ken

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Ken

Probably not as black as yours, David, but no less impressive! Wiped with alcohol it's pretty black and I don't mind a few light streaks. At 3-1/8" X 4-1/4"X 24", it'll make a few 6, 12 and even a few F5 peghead veneers. Even better, it's seasoned and bought from a woodworker that had it for years...no wax except on ends. One chip and no cracks to be seen.

My piece is bigger then your piece...........!! Keep this in the wood domain fellows..!!!
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Don't think we were talking about anyone's "junk" here.
Personally, I've never seen a block this large and I think I can safely say I won't run out of P/H veneers in my lifetime. Looks like I can get 2-4" blocks for 12's and a 4" block for 6's and mandolins. I like to cut ebony up into blocks and shape the P/H on them. Then, I can saw off a 1/8" veneer when I need one and it's properly sized and shaped...