mastertone007 Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 Hi guys, I am almost finnished my custom guitar i am building for myself. I have a red beach laminated with mahogany in the neck. The body is mahogany and maple cap, semi hollow body. But i am at odds with what type of wood i should use for my fretboard. I work in a joinery factory so getting wood isnt a problem but what is an out standing fretboard wood other then the standard Ebony, rosewood and maple? I want to try something totally different form those three woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGman Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 Hi guys, I am almost finnished my custom guitar i am building for myself. I have a red beach laminated with mahogany in the neck. The body is mahogany and maple cap, semi hollow body. But i am at odds with what type of wood i should use for my fretboard. I work in a joinery factory so getting wood isnt a problem but what is an out standing fretboard wood other then the standard Ebony, rosewood and maple? I want to try something totally different form those three woods. A laminate of all 3! Other than that in Aus a good substitute is Jarrah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 Hi guys, I am almost finnished my custom guitar i am building for myself. I have a red beach laminated with mahogany in the neck. The body is mahogany and maple cap, semi hollow body. But i am at odds with what type of wood i should use for my fretboard. I work in a joinery factory so getting wood isnt a problem but what is an out standing fretboard wood other then the standard Ebony, rosewood and maple? I want to try something totally different form those three woods. Zircote,Bocote, Katalox,Pear, Bubinga, Shedua, SatinWood, Bloodwood, Padauk, Snakewood, Pink Ivory, Blackwood. There are more, but that covers a pretty good variety. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
!!METAL MATT!! Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 (edited) these are cool woods for fretboards, top is zebrawood and the others are wenge zebrawood is my fav http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d177/dea...ar/IMG_0970.jpg !!METAL MATT!! Edited October 16, 2006 by !!METAL MATT!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mastertone007 Posted October 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 i saw some zebrawood on ebay, i like it. http://stores.ebay.com/California-Guitar-Builders-Paradise Has anyone dealt with them here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postal Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 I know zebra is a "rosewood" but I thought it was too soft for a fretboard wood? Wenge is cool though. Tulip is interesting too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 I know zebra is a "rosewood" but I thought it was too soft for a fretboard wood? Wenge is cool though. Tulip is interesting too. Zebrawood(Microberlinia brazzavillensis) is not really a Rosewood(Dalbergia). Zebrawood(Janka hardness=1575) is harder than Sugar Maple(Janka 1450) or even Cocobolo(Janka 1136). Wenge is harder yet. Zebrawoods open grain structure probably makes it seem softer than it really is. Brazillian Tulipwood (Pau Rosa-in the rosewood fam.) is very nice. Tulipwood(yellow poplar) is a bit soft for a fretboard. Some of these names make it pretty tricky to tell what you are actually buying . There are a LOT of great woods out there though . Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 Zebrawood makes outstanding fingerboards! It is sort of soft from a fretting perspective, but certainly not softer than a typical rosewood board. Use fretwire with a longer tang. There are ways to stiffen the exposed surface. The simplest is to use a polymerized blended tung oil because hardens and soaks deep into the grain without surface building. Repeated applications over several days will result in an outstanding durable finish. You can then repeat the application periodically long after the guitar has been completed. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mastertone007 Posted October 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 Thanks Guys Hey doug i will try that zerbawood and stiffen it. BTW do you sell fretboards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 Unfortunately I don't sell them, I just make them up when necessary. Follow the directions on the label with your tung oil. Be sure to let it really soak in as much as possible on the first coat. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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