# ebony/ ivory



## Tecumseh 82 (Mar 22, 2021)

I was going through some shelves and came across a cigar box I had forgotten about. Many years ago my cousin tore apart a 1920's piano, and sent me the ebony keys along with the ivory veneer from the keys. It is most certainly ivory because it has grain and smells like bone when it is cut. Any ideas what to do with it?


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## EricRN (Mar 22, 2021)

How thick is it?  I’m assuming it’s thin.  Could make some nice inlays.  Maybe cut as circles and use for a cabachon??  Curious to see what others come up with.  And what a great find!


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## jttheclockman (Mar 22, 2021)

Segmented pens. Heck the design is up to you. You can look through my album and see some ebony and ivory pens I made or just ebony and holly pens.


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## mark james (Mar 22, 2021)

Take it all apart/clean, and set the veneers aside.  Take your time to ponder the next steps. I won't direct you to previously made pens... be creative!


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## Cuetips1 (Mar 23, 2021)

I have a large supply as well. For many years I was making pool cue joint protectors and put a 5/8” dot on the tops and bottoms, $50 a pair


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## Tecumseh 82 (Mar 23, 2021)

The ivory is probably 1/32nd and slightly cupped. The ebony keys are obviously tapered, so I suppose I need to square them . Was thinking of doublestick tape on a 1/4 inch plywood "sled" on disk sander using T-square to get a 90 surface. What glue to use would be my next step.


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## jttheclockman (Mar 23, 2021)

The subject of using piano keys goes back to when this forum started and there were people using them. But the topic got interesting because it seems that the ivory on most pianos is just a thin layer and I believe before 1950 it was made from elephant ivory and that is not allowed any more so you may have to be careful and do research on the use of the ivory if anyone questions you on it. Also it was mentioned before 1930 the Steinways and some other big name pianos used full sized ivory keys.

From what I understood the black keys are very brittle and hard to work with and drilling is a pain in the neck. Maybe a reason you do not see many pens. I did search an old thread that the person used  the ivory for inlays. You may want to do a more intensive search here to see if other pens were made from the keys. I would be careful of dust from any of these keys. Just my opinion.

Unlike some I am not afraid to direct you to other peoples pens. We all can use some ideas to work off and go from there.

https://www.penturners.org/threads/ivory-inlay-on-a-jr-statesman.15623/


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## Tecumseh 82 (Mar 24, 2021)

jttheclockman said:


> The subject of using piano keys goes back to when this forum started and there were people using them. But the topic got interesting because it seems that the ivory on most pianos is just a thin layer and I believe before 1950 it was made from elephant ivory and that is not allowed any more so you may have to be careful and do research on the use of the ivory if anyone questions you on it. Also it was mentioned before 1930 the Steinways and some other big name pianos used full sized ivory keys.
> 
> From what I understood the black keys are very brittle and hard to work with and drilling is a pain in the neck. Maybe a reason you do not see many pens. I did search an old thread that the person used  the ivory for inlays. You may want to do a more intensive search here to see if other pens were made from the keys. I would be careful of dust from any of these keys. Just my opinion.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the info. I did use the ivory on a celtic knot on a slimline. The wood was black walnut and it did work with CA. I just don't know what to do with the ebony. Such little material to work with. ( I mean dimensions not quanity) of keys


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## jttheclockman (Mar 24, 2021)

Tecumseh 82 said:


> Thank you for the info. I did use the ivory on a celtic knot on a slimline. The wood was black walnut and it did work with CA. I just don't know what to do with the ebony. Such little material to work with. ( I mean dimensions not quanity) of keys


As I said they are brittle from what I hear. But you could use them in segmenting being they are true black. Use them as stripes or cut them as staves and put colored material between them. Use them for rings on ends of pens.


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