I just got a stick of very black ebony and another stick of extra fancy cocobolo from Cook woods for pistolgrip caps and fore end tips....
These woods are heavily coated on the ends and I assume I need to keep them that way to prevent splitting. Also, I've been told to soak them in alcohol prior to use to remove oils in the wood.....

is the alcohol soaking really that necessary.....I've never used these woods before but I've used Rosewood and it was very hard to finish.

I have never had to soak ebony at all. Rosewood is oily, and I soak it in acetone for about an hour before I epoxy it, but it's easy

First ebony forend tip I did fell of while at the range. It was glued with epoxy. The epoxy did not adhere to the ebony. I drilled for dowels roughed up the end and wiped with brakekleen degreaser before reglueing. Tip is still on.

When fitting a ebony forend tip, I use 2 dowels and epoxy. I drill the dowel holes oversize (5/16" for a 1/4" dowel)so that I have some leeway when fitting everything together and so excess epoxy has somewhere to go. Just before applying the epoxy, I give the ebony a good rubdown with acetone to remove surface oils.

Be sure to wear a mask when you're sanding the ebony. The dust can really raise hell with your respiratory system.