New Guinea Striped Ebony Instrument Billets

Diospyros insularis

This wood originated from a small, sparsely inhabited island off the east coast of New Guinea. Some of these trees grow to enormous dimensions. One of the first logs we received from here was 3 1/2 feet in diameter, 18 feet long, and weighed 7 tons. It is fine-grained and takes a glassy smooth finish. Most of these pieces have a "marble-cake" look to the end grain that is outstanding.

This was in the last consignment of logs I received in 1990 from an Australian guy who had a logging concession on an uninhabited island off the coast of New Guinea. He barged all his equipment over from the mainland and the barged the cuts logs to a port. Some of the logs were 48" in diameter and 20' long and had gorgeous color and grain. This log had a spalted appearance. Perhaps it had lain on the forest floor for a while. There are some porosities in the wood that would benefit from being impregnated with super glue or an acrylic resin. Still, it is unusually beautiful and one-of-a-kind.

Item Number: IW32088