{"id":2442,"date":"2019-01-29T04:00:17","date_gmt":"2019-01-29T09:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/?p=2442"},"modified":"2019-01-31T22:08:46","modified_gmt":"2019-02-01T03:08:46","slug":"ebiara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/ebiara\/","title":{"rendered":"Ebiara"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Geographic Distribution:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The wood known to woodworkers as Ebiara (may also be known as: Berlinia, Poculi, and\/or Red Zebrawood) is botanically known as Berlinia spp<\/em>.  There is no species designated because while there are up to eighteen known species, four of them may be harvested and sold as Ebiara.  For sake of compulsive completeness, these four possible species are: B. auriculata, B. bracteosa, B. confusa, and B. grandiflora<\/em>.  Some of the other 18 species are endangered and not legally sold commercially.<\/p>\n

Berlinia spp<\/em>. is native to the tropical forests of western Africa.  Berlinia spp.<\/em> occurs most commonly in the following countries: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon.<\/p>\n

For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to Berlinia spp. <\/em>from this point forward simply as Ebiara.<\/p>\n

General Characteristics:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The heartwood of Ebiara ranges between a golden yellow brown to a deep reddish brown.  There are frequently darker black streaks and stripes.  These stripes, against a reddish background give rise to the common name Red Zebrawood.<\/p>\n

As is often the case with tropical hardwoods, the pale sapwood of Ebiara is clearly demarcated from the heartwood.<\/p>\n

The grain of Ebiara is often interlocked but it can be straight as well.  Ebiara has a fairly coarse texture.<\/p>\n

Ebiara is reported to have a good natural luster although my experience has been the opposite.<\/p>\n

The endgrain of Ebiara is reported to be diffuse and porous with large to VERY LARGE pores in no specific arrangement.<\/p>\n

\"Ebiara

Ebiara Pores 3<\/p><\/div>\n

While the specific rot resistance characteristics of Ebiara vary somewhat with the specific species within the Berlinia genus, in general, wood sold as Ebiara is moderately durable against rot.  Ebiara does have good resistance to insects, although the sapwood, but not the heartwood, is susceptible to ambrosia and powder post beetles.<\/p>\n

Working Characteristics:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ebiara is considered generally easy to work with both hand and machine powered tools.<\/p>\n

However, on pieces with interlocked grain, especially with quartersawn lumber, tear out is a concern during surfacing operations such as planing or joining.  There are ways to minimize this risk that are outlined in this excellent resource.<\/a><\/p>\n

Ebiara is reported to glue, turn, and finish well.<\/p>\n

\"Ebiara

Ebiara Reverse<\/p><\/div>\n

Reliable authorities report that Ebiara has not characteristic or distinctive odor, but my experience is the opposite, an experience I detail later in this post.<\/p>\n

Pricing and Availability:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ebiara is relatively new to the international market so its availability is spotty.  Ebiara may occasionally be available as both lumber and veneer.  There are also some smaller craft and turning blanks available.<\/p>\n

Prices should be in the mid-range for an imported hardwood.<\/p>\n

I purchased my Ebiara from Bell Forest Products<\/a> but I cannot locate a receipt to give an exact price for the two blanks that I purchased.  Bell Forest Products still offers Ebiara but only in dimensional lumber and spindle sizes.  Prices range from $1.50 for a pen blank to $4.00 for a 6” piece of ½” x 3” lumber.<\/p>\n

WoodTurningz<\/a> has the only other Ebiara on offer and it consists of a 2” x 2” x 12” spindle for $9.95 and a pen blank for $0.95.<\/p>\n

In this blog, I almost always recommend several vendors with whom I have done considerable business and in whom I have great confidence.  These vendors are: West Penn Hardwoods<\/a>, Bell Forest Products, NC Wood<\/a>, WoodTurningz, Amazon Exotic Hardwoods<\/a>, Griffin Exotic Wood<\/a>, Exotic Woods USA<\/a>, and Wood Turning Blanks 4U.<\/a><\/p>\n

However, none of these fine vendors, with the exception of the two quoted are currently selling Ebiara.  It seems that Ebiara is harder to come by than I at first expected.<\/p>\n

\"Ebiara

Ebiara Interior<\/p><\/div>\n

Woodfinder<\/a> is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising wood dealers.  In your search for Ebiara, this can be an invaluable resource provided you use multiple search terms to capture all the possible listings.  I can’t speak to the quality of any of the listed dealers, but Woodfinder does have the advantage of allowing searches to be performed based on location which might allow an interested buyer to visit a listed wood dealer in person to hand pick pieces at a comfortable price.<\/p>\n

A significant problem with using Woodfinder is that many vendors are listed for woods that, upon further investigation, they do not offer.  I don’t know if perhaps once they did and they didn’t update their listings or if some vendors use a standardized list of woods that include most everything conceivable with the idea that once you land on their page you will find something you want to buy even if you didn’t know it beforehand.  It happens to me all the time!<\/p>\n

Uses:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ebiara finds uses similar to those of other exotic hardwoods, including: veneer, furniture, cabinetry, turned objects, and other small specialty wood items.<\/p>\n

Sustainability:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ebiara is not listed as being in any way threatened or endangered by the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices<\/a> nor does it appear on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.<\/a><\/p>\n

That said, certain species of Berlinia<\/em> are listed as endangered, such as B. hollandii<\/em>, or vulnerable, B. occidentalis<\/em> and B. orientalis<\/em>.  The good news is that it does not appear that these listed species are among the commonly traded species sold as Ebiara.<\/p>\n

To the best of my knowledge, Ebiara is not subject to any special restrictions by any United States government agency.<\/p>\n

\"Ebiara

Ebiara Reverse Slanted<\/p><\/div>\n

I realize that inherent in working with wood is the killing of a part of the natural world that may be slow to return and if I become deeply concerned about this fact, I will have to find a new hobby.  I hope that such a time does not come to pass or at least not any time soon.  In part because I am concerned about legally and responsibly obtained wood, I am reluctant to buy from sellers outside of well-established and known vendors.  I am highly unlikely, for example, to purchase any wood from auction sites, such as Ebay, because of uncertain sourcing and documentation, as well as the potential, even likelihood, of material being misidentified in order to achieve a higher selling price.<\/p>\n

However, due to the commercial scarcity of some woods, resorting to auction sites such as Ebay or Etsy may be the only way to obtain some desirable domestic, or in some cases exotic imported, species that are not routinely commercially harvested.  The potential risks of buying in these marketplaces have to be balanced against the desire to work with a specific species of wood.  That is inherently an individual decision.<\/p>\n

\"Ebiara

Ebiara Interior Slanted<\/p><\/div>\n

I also realize that many, if not most, wood workers do not have endangered species lists memorized, therefore I think it worthwhile and important to do even a small amount of research before purchasing any lumber, domestic as well as imported, to be certain of the potential impact you are having, even in a small way, on threatened or endangered populations.  This information is easy to come by and takes only minutes to locate through any Internet search engine, including those you can access on your phone as you are standing in the lumber yard or store.  Unfortunately, you simply cannot count on a vendor to tell you a product they are selling is endangered.<\/p>\n

Health Hazards:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There have been no reported adverse effects associated with the use of Ebiara, however, the long-term negative effects of exposure to sawdust of any species are well documented.<\/p>\n

It is important to remember that although many people may, or may not, be sensitive to any given wood, the only experience that truly counts is your own, so use reported side effects as guidance but not as a substitute for cautious and safe practices.<\/p>\n

Appropriate protective equipment is therefore always recommended when working with this, or any other, wood, exotic or domestic, unless you have worked with the species before and are certain you are not sensitive to it.<\/p>\n

Complete information about health hazards associated with a wide variety of exotic hardwoods is available from The Wood Database.  Additional information about how to best use a dust collection system and personal protective equipment, such as respirators, can also be found through this excellent and comprehensive resource.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, I experienced no negative side effects when working with Ebiara.<\/p>\n

My Personal Experiences:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I just have to say at the outset, if you don’t like EXTREMELY porous wood, don’t bother picking up any Ebiara.  I seriously think you could see these pores from space.  Because words don’t do it justice, I have included several pictures of the end grain pores.<\/p>\n

\"Ebiara

Ebiara Pores 2<\/p><\/div>\n

Remember, these are NOT torn out spots or turning errors, those are just the naturally occurring pores in the wood.  In fact, the entire piece is porous, but the pores in the face and non-endgrain areas are filled with a slightly yellow resin that keeps them from appearing open, but pores they remain.  Some turners will fill these pores with commercial fillers but I leave the wood as natural as I can.  The wood is smooth over and around the pores, so I leave them as a natural component of a natural product.<\/p>\n

\"Ebiara

Ebiara Pores 1<\/p><\/div>\n

This piece is diminutive, measuring only 5 ½” wide and 1 3\/4 “ high.<\/p>\n

That said, Ebiara cuts cleanly for a very porous wood.  It was a little brittle and splintery on the edges but nothing compared to something like Wenge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Ebiara cut fast.  I was able to complete this small dish in less than two hours.<\/p>\n

The finish cuts with the Easy Wood Tools<\/a> Negative Rake cutter made the sanding pretty easy.  The Ebiara sanded easily which surprised me for such a porous wood.  It smoothed down quickly for which I was grateful.<\/p>\n

There is a distinctive scent with Ebiara that I am sort of at a loss to describe.  It wasn’t offensive, but it was only slightly sweet and spicy.  I think there were more overtones of perhaps vinegar to it while still sweet.  It’s an odd scent that has to be experienced to understand it.<\/p>\n

Once the Ebiara dish was ready for top hollowing it was mounted in a Nova 35mm chuck<\/a> and once it was ready for reversing it was mounted in the Nova Cole Jaws mounted on another Nova Chuck<\/p>\n

All cuts on the Ebiara were made with my Easy Wood Tools cutters, including the use of the new negative rake cutters for VERY fine finish cuts.  The negative rake cutter produces tissue like shavings.  It’s use GREATLY reduces sanding time.<\/p>\n

All sanding was done with Green Wave sanding pads from Packard Woodworks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Ebiara bowl was finished with ShellaWax from Australia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Would I work with Ebiara again?  Yes, I think I would.  It was relatively easy to use and the finished product is quite lovely.  It’s a good thing that I didn’t hate it because I have another piece yet to use!<\/p>\n

As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever their wood working interests happen to be and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!<\/p>\n

Update:<\/h2>\n

Several days later I turned my second, and last, Ebiara blank.  The size and turning experience were essentially identical.  One difference is that this blank had only one section of clearly visible pores, showing, once again, that unlike mass produced commercial items, each wood bowl is unique and special in its own ways!<\/p>\n

Photos follow of the second bowl:<\/p>\n

\"Ebiara

Ebiara 2 Tilted Interior<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Ebiara

Ebiara 2 Interior<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Ebiara

Ebiara 2 Reverse<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Ebiara

Ebiara 2 Reverse Tilted<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

just have to say at the outset, if you don\u2019t like EXTREMELY porous wood, don\u2019t bother picking up any Ebiara.\u00a0 I seriously think you could see these pores from space.\u00a0 Because words don\u2019t do it justice, I have included several pictures of the end grain pores.\u00a0 Remember, these are NOT torn out spots or turning errors, those are just the naturally occurring pores in the wood.\u00a0 In fact, the entire piece is porous, but the pores in the face and non-endgrain areas are filled with a slightly yellow resin that keeps them from appearing open, but pores they remain.\u00a0 Some turners will fill these pores with commercial fillers but I leave the wood as natural as I can.\u00a0 The wood is smooth over and around the pores, so I leave them as a natural component of a natural product.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":2443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135,128,137,129,138,139,130],"tags":[144,154,168,171,181,183,188,200,217,221,230,239,240,241,247],"yoast_head":"\nEbiara - Wood Turning Pens ..<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ebiara is a West African wood that is sometimes call Red Zebrawood because of the dark stripes that often run through the wood. 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