I bought a thick board of Ceylon Satinwood from the internet that was on the plain side. I plan to use it for the (sand shaded) fans.
Kirk, you got me really thinking about boxwood. I was looking for something mellower for the stringing than Holley. Yesterday, I ran into Rob Mallard (and Freddy Roman, …) at Woodworking in America. I asked Rob about the boxwood and/or hard maple as stringing material. He said that the maple would darken with age. So, I picked up a thick board of Castello Boxwood while I was there. Thanks for your suggestion!!
Freddy, I meant to come back to see you at WIA, but ran out of time. Do you have any tips on sand shading solid stock, as opposed to shading individual pieces?