I hope this is the appropriate section to ask this. I did see a grip question posted down the list of posts so here goes.

I bought some Gaboon Ebony some time ago and recently came across it and Id love to make some 1911 grip panels with it, but Id also like to try to checker them. Has anyone ever tried to checker Gaboon Ebony? Its hard as a rock and my checkering tool inventory is very,very basic and very very old but the cutters seem to be in decent condition.

If anyone has checkered some of this wood what was your results? Was it hard on the cutters? Did it destroy the cutters? It just seems that if it could be checkered it would have some nice sharp peaks that would really stay put in the hand well.

Thoughts?

Im going to surmise that gaboon ebony is not worth the wear on tools then? Or will it just drive one insane trying to do it?

Sure would look snappy but Im not that good to start with so perhaps I'll just make them smooth instead and call it good.

Tools wear a bit faster but the results can be spectacular.
Gaboon is brittle so be careful.

I have a few slabs made over the years but have not decided on anything but smooth for now.
Shorts from fingerboards and I checkered some small scrap pieces to learn how to decades ago.
Been working with Ebony since I was 12, learning to fix fiddles, large and small, and using those skills on guitars/electric basses years later.
Losta fret saw blades used over the decades.

If I want black I build with Ebony not black lacquer.
Bought lots of it from the docks of William Marshall in the early '70s and two other places that are long gone.
Always brought Henry the boss a bottle of good Scotch.

While many made pearl inlays of dragons etc etc, I made parrots that when fretted and strung up, were in their little cages.
Parrot neck in pic is being recycled into a six string banjo neck.
Will lay up a laminated wood rim in yellow/black for the kids eventually.

The blade of the yellow/black dagger was made of Ebony and a few years later made a blade from experimental carbon fiber/epoxy.
Read about the Fastnet Race of '79.

A checkering tool's goal in life is to wear itself out making wood more pretty.
Carving tools and cutters as well.

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Have Fun/Stay Safe

Use very sharp/new checkering cutters on the ebony, especially Gaboon as it's about the hardest of the bunch.
Using dull cutters is a loosing battle when trying to checker the stuff. The wood will do a good job of dulling them anyway, so don't start off handicapping yourself.

If there is some twisted grain in the wood section being used, work carefully in that area as it can pull out easily being so hard.
Otherwise it checkers like any other extremely hard wood or material does, even some of the man-made Ivory materials around now.
Though they don't trouble you with grain direction and tear-out issues.
Have fun!!

Thats cool dude, my dad was a luthier! He built and repaired dulcimers, banjos, acoustic and electric guitars. Eddie VanHalen bought a maple telecaster from him.

My recommendation, for what it's worth, would be to contact the folks at Wood Caliber Grips, and see if you could send that wood to them and have them make what you want. They offer grips made from Gaboon Ebony, so I'm certain they could do it...the only question is whether they would be willing to use your wood. They also have some Gaboon Ebony grips in stock (you can see them on their site)...perhaps they would take your GE in trade?

Their work is just superb, and they're very easy to talk to and work with. Good luck to you!

WoodCaliber.com - Home

There are certain Hard Woods that are quite difficult to work with - Ebony being one of them. I've got some Brazilian Hardwood (that someone gave me) that I used to make some tool holders and stands from and it is the hardest damned piece of wood I've ever worked with in my life!! So hard, dense and heavyI had to use Cobalt drill bits on them to efficiently drill multiple holes. So hard that I actually threaded the holes themselves with Machine Taps and can screw right into the wood with machine screws instead of using traditional brass or steel threaded inserts. After using these attachments and holders for 6 years the threads are as good as new and have not stripped out.

Some of these extremely hard woods require metal working tools and not wood working tools. Ebony can be checkered but it would be a very slow and tedious project. If you got the patience keep going! You also might have to sharpen or change tools/cutters multiple times.