Thanks Curt, Chris and I are already connecting on the skins.
Ryan, you read my mind :D
Thanks again guys, it's honestly prettier than I expected...I can't wait to see the Shawnee riser (hopefully) today. I feel exceedingly blessed that God would allow me to own such beautiful things. The Bible says all good things come from Him and when I hold this one in my hand I know that is certainly true; the figure in it is beyond the capabilities of eve the finest human artist. I would never place material things above God, I'm just testifying that I sure know where they come from.
The wood isn't so hard to find in small pieces; it's very popular with the "turning" crowd for pens and bowls and such. The main problem is finding one big enough for a riser. I would check with whoever you plan on building one on how big of a piece they will need. I think this one was about 3" x 3 1/2" x 20". At the time, I found 3 that size but this one was the prettiest to me. The wood is out there, just keep looking until you find the right piece...then the hard part begins....the wait! I got mine from Westpennhardwoods.com, fantastic folks to deal with and they work really hard to get you the exact piece you are looking for. They are out of stock right now as far as I know but there are numerous sources in the US, just google exotic wood suppliers. I'll bet there are some pieces big enough out there, but Bob says he doesn't think they will be out there for long after these two risers.