Murray -

Reports I've seen are rather dated, but the pressure treatment, or sometimes just a long immersion, was being done by the same people who did the first processing of fresh cut logs. Especially for instrument and cabinetry use, there's a lot of drying, curing, etc., involved, often even before the logs are cut into planks. They're usually not graded until after the first rough cuts.

The classic 1933 Identifying Wood, R. Bruce Hoadley, ©Taunton Press, (ISBN 0-942391-04-7 for the 1990 reprint) identified "ebony" as a single specific tree, Diospyros ebenum; but ca. 1992 the specialty wood retailers in the Seattle area refused to give their "ebony" a species specific identification, referring to what they had as "commercial ebony" that might come from any of a half dozen related trees. Samples available there were clearly from different kinds of trees, but I was assured that they'd all been properly "stabilized to standard (commercial) ebony properties." One of the dealers pulled out his "spec book" to show me the max/min limits on volatile and nonvolatile oil components for what he had, and a list of the tree species that could qualify, so I assume there is - or was - at least a trade association to regulate what could be called ebony(?) in his commercial market.

Some traditional ebony does still come out of Indonesia, and a luthiery supplier can get the original stuff for you - for the right price. A few years ago I was seeing some complaints about the quality of the "real ebony" people were getting. Good luther's ebony should have no visible "grain" at about 10x magnification, and should never show growth rings. A lot of what was apparently the right tree was being cut from way too far out in the bark. I don't know that that's been a concern recently, so maybe the market's more stable now - or maybe people just decided it didn't matter that much.

At least in the areas where I looked way back then, most cabinet shops only stocked the "substitutes." Luthiery houses also might have the substitutes, but would usually inform you - although not necessarily too emphatically - if a blank was other than the classic stuff.

Any oils used to impregnate the alternative woods usually would be taken from the same trees as the wood itself, just pressed or solvent extracted from the bark and heart (where the wood is prone to cracking) and "put back" into the good wood. If and when any such treatment was done, it usually would be before the logs are made into "lumber" and graded, since the oil/resin content is part of what determines the grade for woods like ebony.

I can't imagine that any luthier could afford to "make his own wood" this way. Many of them may maintain large stocks to permit aging and some additional curing according to their own preferences, but they shouldn't need to do any exotic processing. They buy it as ebony and sell it as ebony. If you buy ebony blanks from a luthiery supply house, and they sell them to you as "ebony (Diospyros ebenum)" you should expect to get the real thing. It is possible that a luthier might apply some dye to a less than perfectly black blank to get uniform color; but I don't know that even that is at all common. Any such coloring would have to be done on the finished part, since the first cut into a blank would show it up immediately.

The more common thing at the instrument maker's level is the use of another material, often dyed maple, for parts like fiddle pegs that were traditionally made of ebony. I haven't heard of any that lied about what they were doing, but they might neglect to mention it if you don't ask.

My information does come from what seemed credible sources, but is about 10 years old. International trade fluctuates, and "commercial names" for forest products probably wander around even more. Quite a few of the common names for woods are pretty non-specific, unless you choose to be picky about knowing what's being offered and demanding specific identification for what you buy. Even "spruce" can mean a half dozen significantly different kinds of woods, with wide variations in properties within each kind. Some of them make great instruments, and some don't even make good doghouses.

John