Metallion Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 (edited) Doing some Fretted and fretless FRETBOARDS and Want to know what WOODS are recommended. I was thinking Walnut, fairly cheap, but WARMOTH didn't recommend it for fingerboards. Why? http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/necks....uitar_neckwoods I Do like the Rosewood, but do not know where to get it - or what kind (indian, etc) - for a decent price, as I'm located in Sweden. Edited June 27, 2007 by Metallion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 I would guess any wood that holds fret tangs well and isn't going to pop splinters in your fingers! Soft woods like say, spalted might need a lot of stabilising before it could hold frets in. This is a guess, but one based on practicality....acoustics are a different remit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertbart Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 I have used Walnut. I am pretty sure Ovation has used Walnut fingerboards over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 I would not take what you read in their charts as absolute. They also say Bocote and Goncalo Alves are not suitable for fingerboards, which is not the case. However, You should think about what a fretboard adds to the neck in terms of structure, how durable the wood is, does it require a finish etc... Personally I would choose a fretboard wood that meets my requirements over using what is handy. It is just such a small amount of wood and is very important to the performance of your guitar. Look up the list of wood suppliers(Europe) here-Pinned topic. East Indian Rosewood is cheap, significantly harder and stiffer than Walnut and requires no finish. If a wood like EIR suits your needs better it will be work a couple dollars more. There are several Rosewoods that are about twice the price Walnut(given Walnut runs about $7-10bd. ft. and EIR runs about $15-22bd.ft* retail prices). Figuring waste and surfacing you will use maybe 1/4 of a bd. ft per fretboard(Walnut-$1.75-2.50, EIR-$3.75-5.50) if you make your own. If you buy pre-cut blanks(that have been cut and surfaced) you will have to pay for the service, and I would figure $5 will be added to the cost(quantity may drop this cost), depending on quantity you purchase the dealer may add a bit for stocking time $2-3 depending. Most of the cost in buying fingerboard blanks is in machining and stocking, not the wood itself(so you can save money by cutting your own, if you have the tools to do so). Good Luck, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metallion Posted November 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 (edited) ...Personally I would choose a fretboard wood that meets my requirements over using what is handy. It is just such a small amount of wood and is very important to the performance of your guitar. Look up the list of wood suppliers(Europe) here-Pinned topic. East Indian Rosewood is cheap, significantly harder and stiffer than Walnut and requires no finish. If a wood like EIR suits your needs better it will be work a couple dollars more. There are several Rosewoods that are about twice the price Walnut(given Walnut runs about $7-10bd. ft. and EIR runs about $15-22bd.ft* retail prices). There is no Seller in Sweden I know of that sells Rosewood for just double that of Walnut, it costs 5 to 11 times as much!! Walnut: ca 2500 Euro/m3 (local dealer), Pallisander: 11110 Euro/m3 (Fanerkompaniet AB), Eastindian Rosewood: 24300 Euro/m3 (Holm AB) So it's not just a couple of dollars more! "Just a small amount of Wood..." No Wood Dealer in Sweden sells less than a Whole Plank, 2-3 metres. Edited November 1, 2007 by Metallion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VesQ Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 Walnut: ca 2500 Euro/m3 (local dealer), Pallisander: 11110 Euro/m3 (Fanerkompaniet AB), Eastindian Rosewood: 24300 Euro/m3 (Holm AB) So it's not just a couple of dollars more! "Just a small amount of Wood..." No Wood Dealer in Sweden sells less than a Whole Plank, 2-3 metres. Well you could try http://www.viilukeskus.fi/swe/defaultswe.htm It´s not in Sweden but very near, In Finland Turku/Åbo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 (edited) "Just a small amount of Wood..." No Wood Dealer in Sweden sells less than a Whole Plank, 2-3 metres. Thats basically how it works everywhere. Not many places sell little offcuts as it would be pointless for them to do so as not many people have use for such a small piece of wood and if they do have small pieces you'll possibly pay more as they'll charge a set price over a board foot price. I have an exotics place that sells offcuts that could be used as fretboards and I have another place that will chop a plank for you, if there is at least 5 feet left on the plank afterwards, which is unusual for a place to do. Just how it is at many and maybe most lumber yards, just so you know, which is what motivated me to buy a bandsaw because I felt so limited on woods. Anyhow, if you can it is much cheaper to buy those planks, if you can accurately cut them and make good use of the wood. I know I was a little bummed last time I went out for some nice curly myrtle, the boards were longer than I had expected maybe 10-14 feet long,8/4 and about 7-8" wide, at least the ones with a decent cut and good figure and I didn't have quite enough money at the time, at least not enough to buy the wood and buy gas for the ride home. Anyway, the fretboard is just a small piece of wood on your guitar, doesn't mean you'll find little pieces often and if you do, its not always going to be suited for a guitar. Edited November 3, 2007 by jmrentis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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