mattharris75 Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 I'm planning on doing an oil finish on my first guitar neck built from scratch. The neck is unbound, so my question is this. Is it recommended to put a finish of some type on the side grain of an unbound fretboard? I know it's not exactly end grain, but wasn't sure if there was a compelling argument one way or the other, or if this was just a matter of personal choice. I was planning on oiling the side grain simply for aesthetic reasons, if nothing else, assuming there is no reason not to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 What type of wood are you using for the fret board? Naturally oily woods like rosewood, don't need any type of finish. Woods like maple need to be completely finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 It makes your life a lot easier if you just carry on the finishing process right up the edge of the fretboard - its easier to mask off the front of a fretboard than it is the edges. you will probably find you get oil on the face of the fretboard anyway - i sometimes rub a light coat of oil into the fretboard and buff it off to even everything up. Just make sure its all dry before you put any strings near it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted July 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 Thanks guys. The fretboard is rosewood, BTW. I will just carry it to the edge of the fretboard as I had originally intended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 I run a light coat of oil on all my fretboards(except maple,which I properly finish),but that is just for my piece of mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted July 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 I run a light coat of oil on all my fretboards(except maple,which I properly finish),but that is just for my piece of mind. I may do that as well, once I get done finishing the neck properly. But i'll do the full treatment on the sides of the board. I'm pretty happy with how the tru oil finish has turned out on my pickup cover, beautiful finish. I posted a link to a pic of it in my build thread. Tru oil is some good stuff, i'm still halfway considering it to finish the body, but I think I want a bit more of a dipped in glass look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GGW Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 I had a Gibson guitar with an ebony fretboard. It's quite dry up here in the winter, and unless I was very careful with a humidifier and oiling, the fretboard would check; small cracks would open up. I took it in for some routine maintenance to a new tech and he said that the edge of the fret board was not finished and doing so would help to keep the wood from drying out so readily. He finished the edges for me and it was fine after that. I can't vouch for this being the whole solution, but when I started to build, I finish the edges just for this reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metallisomething Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 Does anyone here finish the face of the fretboard with anything? on my build I didn't, I just treat it with fretboard oil. Also, do finish the sides....I haven't yet and you can almost feel where the laquer ends and the fretboard begins...its rather annoying. Also, What do you guys finish the back of the necks with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 I'll be finishing my entire neck (fingerboard included) with poly to prevent oxidizing the best I can. If I were using a more oily fingerboard I'd leave it natural and treat it with lemon oil. I'll probably finish some future non-maple necks with danish oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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