Thread: Wanted - African blackwood burls

Would you even see burl figure in a piece of African Blackwood burl, it's so black usually?

From what little i've seen of African blackwood burl wood, you can see a reasonable amount of figuring, though that tends to happen more in pieces cut closer to the sapwood rather than pure heartwood sections.
Its definitely not a really spectacularly vivid burl wood like amboyna or cocobolo, but it'd work beautifully for something i've got in mind a little further down the track.

All Dalbergias are tasty,particularly Kingwood(Cearensis)...but surely you would find something just as appropriate here in OZ,without the worry of it being illegally sourced,as i am sure alot of African timbers are..what about Australian Blackwood,it has the same species name(melanoxylon),as it is a black timber also...and it can be just as tasty,if not better than the African stuff...look outside the square my friend,you don't need to search abroad for your timber needs,as our timbers are just as classy(at a fraction of the cost),if not better..food for thought.,.MM

Originally Posted by MAPLEMAN

All Dalbergias are tasty,particularly Kingwood(Cearensis)...but surely you would find something just as appropriate here in OZ,without the worry of it being illegally sourced,as i am sure alot of African timbers are..what about Australian Blackwood,it has the same species name(melanoxylon),as it is a black timber also...and it can be just as tasty,if not better than the African stuff...look outside the square my friend,you don't need to search abroad for your timber needs,as our timbers are just as classy(at a fraction of the cost),if not better..food for thought.,.MM

All very good points and definitely true, but for this particular project i've been planning to use African blackwood for some time, and have just taken a second job to help pay for it.

I'm afraid i don't know as much about our own timbers as what i do about African and Asian exotics, so at the moment i'm still slowly learning, though from what i've seen, thus far i haven't found any Australian timbers that are as black or as dark as African blackwood or members of the ebony family, with the possible exception of ancient/fossilized redgum.
Having stumbled across a few pieces of it online however, i'm also wondering whether anyone on here knows anything about fuming eucalyptus to dark brown or blackish colours, and whether its done in exactly the same way as fuming oak?

Originally Posted by fudo133

All very good points and definitely true, but for this particular project i've been planning to use African blackwood for some time, and have just taken a second job to help pay for it.

I'm afraid i don't know as much about our own timbers as what i do about African and Asian exotics, so at the moment i'm still slowly learning, though from what i've seen, thus far i haven't found any Australian timbers that are as black or as dark as African blackwood or members of the ebony family, with the possible exception of ancient/fossilized redgum.
Having stumbled across a few pieces of it online however, i'm also wondering whether anyone on here knows anything about fuming eucalyptus to dark brown or blackish colours, and whether its done in exactly the same way as fuming oak?

Diospyros humilis and ferrea are 2 native species worth investigating..maybe out of the 100's of acacia species,there could be one dark enough for your needs.Also,there is Black Walnut,Black Bean,Black Penda (same Genus as Solomon Island Ebony) to name a few.Maybe a few more forumites can throw in some suggestions .Please don't work yourself too hard fudo133,you wont leave yourself enough 'shed time' ..All the best with your project..MM

Originally Posted by fudo133

i'm also wondering whether anyone on here knows anything about fuming eucalyptus to dark brown or blackish colours, and whether its done in exactly the same way as fuming oak?

No sure about fuming as such, but you can ebonise the timber with a mixture of vinegar+steel wool+tea leaves (used tea bag is fine), paint on a few coats letting dry in between in sunlight.

there is only one person in OZ that can and may have it im guessing try contacting Bench1holio he seems to have alot of hard to find stuff , i know i was lucky enough to get a piece of ebony burl of him
earlier this year https://www.woodworkforums.com/f222/f...c-bits-171907/ i grabbed it as im going to look at making some small boxes at some stage and maybe use some of this for inlays