Flamed Ebony Fingerboard

[Prostheta]

Simple. I accidentally acquired a flamed Ebony fingerboard for which I have two options on finishing! The backstory is that the fingerboard is not uniformly black....I generally don't like the idea of forcing woods out of their natural colouration, however the tradeoffs need balancing I think.

The two options as presented are:

- to polish the fingerboard up as-is to a glassy gloss which will reveal and flatter the flame to the maximum extent possible.

- to stain the fingerboard with leather dye to achieve a uniform blackness - albeit satin and at the expense of flame chatoyance.

Discussion is welcome of course, however I would prefer facts based on knowledge here rather than opinion.

Will post pics when I have the opportunity to photograph the board in adequate natural lighting. It's a little dull today.

Edited August 16, 2011 by Prostheta

[Prostheta]

Okay, this is probably as good as I'll get with flash photos in the time I have today. As you can see, we're talking some fairly not-black Ebony which will need forcing a fair way out of whack to achieve anything near black. The colour adjustment I added to highlight the figure has exaggerated it somewhat however.

Edited August 16, 2011 by Prostheta

[WezV]

I am not really a fan of flamed ebony. the whole effect is a trick of the light - it just doesn't work as well with a black material

the board is going to darken to a shade closer to black than it is now through use

when its on a guitar it will just look uneven.

[Prostheta]

A case for dyeing, then?

[WezV]

for me - yes!

unless its got more colour variation than shown in the pics.

[Prostheta]

I bought it as a "random" piece of Ebony for a fingerboard somewhere down the line. The variation isn't amazing by any standards, so I planned to use it for a dye job. Came across that flame in it purely by chance. The "Indian" Ebony I used in my seven-string was far nicer than this, and that polished up a treat. I guess that since the polishing will need to be done anyway before it is dyed, I can take a view on how it looks in the final product. The flame may pop more when polished and buffed out with the frets. Not important at this stage, as this won't be even started until next year. Got a far better piece of Ebony on the way in for my bass build. Cheers Wez!

[RestorationAD]

Blasphemy. Don't dye it just use it. Respect the wood.

If you are serious about dying it send it to me and I will send you a black one.... (nevermind might be cost prohibitive)

I am glad you are going to at least see what it looks like before attacking it with dye.

[WezV]

respect the wood! - what a load of rubbish, make the wood what you want it to be!!!

dyeing isnt really needed other than because of the colour variation. the clean look of a nice plain ebony fretboard is hard to beat

my point is simply not to expect much special from the flame. the only time i have liked flame in ebony is with stripy macasser. i suppose it might look ok if it was an unbroken expanse - maybe on a fretless where enough of it could be seen to let the subtle figure become slightly more obvious

[westhemann]

What will the finish on the rest of the guitar be?

If it is going to be a solid color,dye it as black as you can...if it is to be a transparent "natural" hue(anything brown or lighter),leave it undyed...

If it is a transparent "artificial" color(Cherry red,Blue,etc...),dye it

[Prostheta]

Black. A lovely golden black.

[westhemann]

Oh yes...dye the board....

[DarkAvenger]

Cut it into a cool shape and put it on a body.

[Prostheta]

Nah. I have its place in a design earmarked and the only decision here is whether to dye or not. No moving goalposts halfway through a project or letting the piece rule the process. I merely wanted to ascertain evidence on flamed Ebony from people that have used it rather than "that would be cool". The logic of going through the polishing > eyeballing > decision > maybe-dye kind of makes the question I asked redundant as I can tick both boxes really.

[ElRay]

What if you "ebonized" it with Yea Olde "Steel Wool Dissolved in Vinegar" method? I'm not sure of the tannin concentration in ebony, so it might not work w/o Yea Olde "Bathe it with a Strong Brew of Tea" pre-treatment.

Ray

[bigsnaketex]

I just used a macassar ebony piece for a fretboard and it looks beautiful with it's stipes. It's on a figured black walnut gutar with a very white spruce top and it's beautiful. I made the bridge out of the same stuff.

But if you want uniform then dying is your only option. I don't think all the lemon oil in the world would blend those stripes in.

I know you didn't want opinions but that's all this discussion can be - I think you should make the wood into what you want it to be....but for me, I'd leave it just like it is because that's what it is!!

[Prostheta]

Aha! I've noticed sunshine outside....bear with me....

*wonders why he is typing and alluding to real time and commenting on actions in the third person*

[Prostheta]

As you can see, it is more patchy than it is striped. Definitely nothing like Macassar. In a small format such as a medium-scale 4-string bass, the patches will be less prevalent but may occur over several frets. All I can really do is suck it and see. If it looks great after the fretboard and fretwork are buffed up then job done, otherwise it'll get dyed.