Didnt you also use ebony for the flappers?

Was the ebony similar to wood to work?

I like that idea.

Ebony's not that bad to work with. Every now and then, you'll come across a pin knot that you can't see, and you might tear the wood. Violin fingerboards are graded not just by color, but also by grain and percentage of pin kmots. The better the grade, the easier it is to work.
I did make the flappers out of ebony. Weight was not an issue, but because of the density, it's prone to a lot of clankity clank, so the felt has to be increased to quiet that down to normal.
Steve