krazyderek Posted November 11, 2003 Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 I'm pondering the thought of bleaching ebony so that i can stain the fingerboard to match a transparent blue on the body, the wood won't have the same figure but that's ok, think it can be done? am i going to need like a ph 14 base liquid? has anyone else tried that drano stuff since it was sujjested, will ebony actually get that white/bright? and is this going to affect tone at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted November 11, 2003 Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 You'll never bleach ebony anywhere near white, you'll be lucky to get it any lighter than EI rosewood, and I'm not sure you won't destroy it in the process. Why not use a two-piece f'board, then you can even use figured maple to dye blue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted November 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 you mean like a 2 layer fingerboard? or a ebony board with a maple veneer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted November 11, 2003 Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 D'OH! I wasn't paying attention - you want the whole fingerboard blue. I somehow misread that you wanted a two-tone f'board. OK, why not just use maple? You could dye it, then coat it with CA like they do on fretless bass necks to seal in the dye, then finish normally. And save the ebony for another project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted November 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 want the ebony for tonal purposes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 11, 2003 Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 other lighter woods have similar tonal properties to ebony....like bocote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckguitarist Posted November 11, 2003 Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 wouldn't the dark streaks in bocote give the same problems as ebony when bleaching? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted November 11, 2003 Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 Maple has a very similar 'spankyness' to ebony. They are both closegrained, hard and as such bright. You will not get a satisfactory result trying to bleach ebony, so I'd abandon that idea now. Sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted November 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 i'm already a maple boy so i can definitly tell the difference between it and ebony fretboards, what about the veneer idea then? radius the ebony, then glue the veneer, re-check the radius with my block, then should i clear then fret like some maple necks do?, or fret then clear? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 11, 2003 Report Share Posted November 11, 2003 wouldn't the dark streaks in bocote give the same problems as ebony when bleaching? no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted November 12, 2003 Report Share Posted November 12, 2003 I would also drop the idea of veneering a fretboard. I think you'd lose a lot of tone that way. No way would I try that. If you want to attempt dying the Ebony (I wouldn't either, as suggested above) ...then use the 2-part bleach made by Kleen-Strip. I've bleached Coco-Bolo with it just as a stupid experiment. I was bleaching something else at the time, had a little left over, and just decided to swab it on a hunk of C-B I had to see what heppened. It did lighten it up, MAYBE enough for you to slap some blue over it. Try it on a scrap piece, maybe it'll work well enough for what you want. The Kleen-Strip stuff isn't that expensive... But...even if you bleach the Ebony, dye it blue and wind up liking it... ...the dye will sooner or later wear off due to playing the neck unless you finish it. Using Maple is really the best way to get where you want I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 12, 2003 Report Share Posted November 12, 2003 what about lacewood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted November 12, 2003 Report Share Posted November 12, 2003 Lacewood is really really soft, softer than Basswood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannoG Posted November 12, 2003 Report Share Posted November 12, 2003 Zebra wood is hard enough, gonna have much of the stripes that bocote has though. Tulipwood would be lighter in color (and way more expensive). I'd say satinwood would be ideal (and even more expensive) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted November 12, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2003 say it with me people, EB-O-NY althought those are nice woods, tulip wood is very hard and similar to ebony in physical caracteristics, bocote was also another good sujestion but how to they compare in terms of tone? if i could find some bocote with little to no dark grain... that would be ideal for bleaching... if the tone is close.... satin(blood) wood is pretty... hard, but really, really red... and toxic.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted November 12, 2003 Report Share Posted November 12, 2003 what about a nice blue inlay. create some contrast etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannoG Posted November 13, 2003 Report Share Posted November 13, 2003 The satinwood I am talking about is not bloodwood. It looks like quilt maple. Definately not red. http://www.woodworkerssource.net/Merchant3..._Code=Satinwood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannoG Posted November 13, 2003 Report Share Posted November 13, 2003 Here's some that show more figure: http://www.woodveneer.com/exotics/c-satinwood.html http://www.certainlywood.com/Typesamples/satinaf.htm http://www.certainlywood.com/Typesamples/satincey.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckguitarist Posted November 13, 2003 Report Share Posted November 13, 2003 the top of jehles third jellycaster is nigerian satinwood... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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