ThermalWood

Real ebony… or is it?

ThermalWood Canada is offering specialty material to woodworkers all over the world, including an ebony alternative.

One of my favorite woods to use is ebony. This dark wood turns beautifully, takes a polish, and holds crisp detail. Plus, no matter what you make, it always seems a little “extra” being made from ebony or having ebony accents. However, one of the biggest issues with ebony is its availability. It’s a controlled material, the harvesting of it is a point of contention, and it’s expensive.

ThermalWood Canada is offering woodworkers an alternative to ebony, in a material they’re referring to as Obsidian Ebony. Obsidian Ebony is torrified maple —maple that’s been thermally modified before being infused with resin. By baking the maple in a large, oxygen deprived oven, the  cellular structure of the wood changes. Not only does it get darker in color, but it also becomes more water resistant — the cells of the wood don’t like to soak up water like they did before the baking process. It makes sense that, when you look at the ThermalWood Canada’s website (thermalwoodcanada.com), that a lot of their offering is thermally modified outdoor material —siding, decking, etc.

So, how does Obsidian Ebony compare to the real deal? Well enough that I have to give stuff a real hard look when I’m pulling it out of my lumber rack. Obsidian Ebony has color all the way through, and the weight is very similar to ebony. The only noticeable difference is that the grain shows up ever-so-slightly before finish is applied — you can see it a bit in the photos below (the top image of the article actually is real ebony for comparison’s sake).

Working with Obsidian Ebony is almost identical to real ebony. It can be chippy — which is an unfortunate characteristic of ebony. In fact, a few issues back, I showed how to do inlays with the Shaper Origin. The black material in that article was Obsidian Ebony. The material, once finish is applied, turns jet black and is indistinguishable from ebony.

ThermalWood Canada offers Obsidian Ebony in various sizes, including some sized specifically for luthiers building guitars. You can find out more about it on their website thermalwoodcanada.com.