January 08, 2024 I Supply
ThermalWood Canada Creates Real-Wood Ebony Alternative
ThermalWood Canada is proud to announce its creation of a real-wood alternative for ebony, called obsidian. The music industry has long relied on ebony for its instruments, and now with the exotic hardwood on the endangered species list, ThermalWood Canada has answered the call. Through a process of torrefication and resin infusion, obsidian replicates ebony not just in color but in weight, density and overall workability. By using maple, which we have in abundance, ThermalWood Canada, has found a way to help keep ebony from going extinct, while not lessening the quality of the product.
“That whole process has allowed us to create a product that is durable, very dense, glassike and has also been validated by companies like Fender, Martin Guitar and a number of different luthiers around the world,” said Bob Lennon, president and CEO of ThermalWood Canada.
The process of conception to creation of this product took about five years and included work and research with local New Brunswick scientists and engineering students who created a technology to process this wood that had never been done before.
Obsidian ebony was primarily used for guitar fingerboards, but has since expanded. Now ThermalWood Canada is supplying fingerboards, bridges, headstocks and frogs. The brand also offer customized sizes to supply bass, cello, violin and viola fingerboards and accessories.
