joris Posted April 27, 2004 Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 I started leveling a piece of ebony last weekend, to use as a fingerboard on my new guitar neck. I used a #60 sanding paper, but it didn't seem to take much wood away. Should I use another grid or another type of sanding paper, or should I just have some more patience? I was thinking of, after gluing the ebony on my neck blank (honduras mahogony), shaping the neck with a router bit. Can this be done with ebony or will it be damaged because it is so hard? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted April 27, 2004 Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 i`ll be doing the same in a few days. not looking forward to it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted April 27, 2004 Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 Yes....sanding ebony is a real sport.... I recommend getting it level and to the correct thickness with a thickness planer or a milling machine....you will have enough work to do during radiusing the ebony anyway.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joris Posted April 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 I'm not trying to think about the radiusing (yet). the thickness is ok, i'm just trying to get it as straight as an arrow. Does anyone have some experience in routing this kind of wood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted April 27, 2004 Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 At first I had thought that ebony would be a problem routing, but with a good router bit it will cut like butter. As far as leveling a ebony fretboard, yes it does take a bit longer to do, that's why I usually will order a pre-radiused board, but with some time and patience you can establish a radius on your own. The problem with Ebony is that it will load your sandpaper up so that it doesn't sand as good as when you first started, that's why you need a no-load sand paper. If you are using a radius block then I'd recommend buying the Stikit 3m Gold Self Adhesive Sandpaper that Stew Mac sells, it's very good about not loading up on you so you can sand alot without having to change out sandpaper constantly. For ebony I'd get the 80 grit.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joris Posted April 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 Thanks. I think I can get a hold of this type of sanding paper. I don't know if I can get some preradiussed fingerboards arround here, but i will sure be looking arround for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted April 27, 2004 Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 I usually try to avoid sanding ebony when practical. For instance, to trim the fretboard to the sides of a neck, I would use a router instead of sanding. This is for two reasons - the first is the one you are experiencing - it takes a very long time. Second, the ebony dust gets into the other wood and contaminates it - then you end up having to sand it to get the ebony out. You can mess around with masking but I'm not thrilled with that method. It does seem to behave well with a router - at least for me. Another tool I like to use instead of sandpaper (with ebony) is a scraper. Neither of these are really useful for leveling a fretboard but I wanted to share my experience in working with this stuff - maybe it will save you some time later? Oh yeah - if you get that 3M stik-it sand paper - think about getting the big heavy leveling bar that stewmac sells - those things are awesome!! The weight of them really helps when sanding and it's always nice to have a nice accurate straight edge for leveling anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joris Posted April 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 Ok, routing it is. The leveling bar idea is great too. I have a big piece of marble laying arround, and it is straight as an arrow. I might stick the sanding paper to it and use its weight to do the sanding. Seems like ebony is not the best choice for a fingerboard. Guess I will be looking for another type of wood the next time. Thanks all You guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted April 27, 2004 Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 Seems like ebony is not the best choice for a fingerboard. I still like it (especially for inlay ) - but it comes with a heavy price and more working time. On some guitars - ebony is exactly what is needed but I can understand why you might want to move on to something else for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted April 27, 2004 Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 Seems like ebony is not the best choice for a fingerboard. Guess I will be looking for another type of wood the next time. Au contrare...ebony is great if you want a crisp clean attack and to add some brightness to the overall sound (i.e. like if you're using a mahogany body). Choose what you want in terms of tone and asthetics, then just deal with it when it comes to working the wood. Use a mask when sanding or routing ebony; it's not good for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joris Posted April 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 it is a great looking piece of wood. Maybe I just have to find the wright technique to work it. I just thought it might look nice. The body is sippo mahogony, the neck is honduras. I'm looking for a warm blues sound. I will continue the find with the ebony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted April 27, 2004 Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 it is a great looking piece of wood. Maybe I just have to find the wright technique to work it. I just thought it might look nice. The body is sippo mahogony, the neck is honduras. I'm looking for a warm blues sound. I will continue the find with the ebony. You'll definitely get a nice warm sound with that wood combo; stick with the ebony fingerboard, once you plug it in you'll be glad you did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joris Posted April 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 I will, thanks. Already looking forward to plugging it in, but it might take awhile yet. I have the body routed. Just making the neck now to be able to line everything up in the wright way. I will be using vintage noiseless stratt pickups. Do you think this is a good choice ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsl602000 Posted April 27, 2004 Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 I will be using vintage noiseless stratt pickups. Do you think this is a good choice ? Don't get me wrong.. I'm a single coil man all the way, but your guitar just screams for humbuckers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joris Posted April 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 I've already routed the pickup cavities. I boucht a big chunck of sippo mahogony, so i have enough wood left for another three bodies. I was thinking of using humbuckers on the second one and put some neck angle in. This one has a straight neck and a recessed tunomatic bridge. Just curious how it will sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted April 27, 2004 Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 Oh yeah - if you get that 3M stik-it sand paper - think about getting the big heavy leveling bar that stewmac sells - those things are awesome!! The weight of them really helps when sanding and it's always nice to have a nice accurate straight edge for leveling anyway. Exactly... That's one tool I couldn't do without. I got the 16" one and it just gives you extra weight that will really help you level faster. I think everyone should have one of those, simply the most used tool I've bought from Stew Mac so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted April 27, 2004 Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 The problem with Ebony is that it will load your sandpaper up so that it doesn't sand as good as when you first started, that's why you need a no-load sand paper. amen! even with good paper, i find i still need to pat the radiusing block to get the dust off more then with other woods.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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