fingerboard materials other than ebony

[PB+J]

I'm no luthier, but from what I know there are harder woods than ebony--lignum vitae, for example. But they are usually not as desirable--harder to find in the right size maybe, or hard to work., Like brazilian walnut

I love the look and the feel of an ebony board, but as long as the neck is stiff enough I suppose you could use any hard wood that finishes smooth--not oak, but maybe, say Padauk. It wouldn't wear as well. As I understand it, all the traditional woods were arrived at for their combination of availability, workability, and looks

[T-Bal]

Originally Posted by azflyman

Ipe (Brazilian walnut) is very dense. It will not float due to its density. It is very hard to work due to its silica content. It is used to deck and interior flooring due to its ability to weather without any notable structural change. There are BG fretboards made out of Ipe. It is drilled for installation with metal bits rather than wood bits. This wood is not nailed, it is too hard.

az

Thanks. What is silica, and what about it makes the wood hard to work with (if that's what you meant)?

[M_A_T_T]

Originally Posted by azflyman

Ipe (Brazilian walnut) is very dense. It will not float due to its density. It is very hard to work due to its silica content. It is used to deck and interior flooring due to its ability to weather without any notable structural change. There are BG fretboards made out of Ipe. It is drilled for installation with metal bits rather than wood bits. This wood is not nailed, it is too hard.

az

It can also cause a skin reaction called dermatitus(sp?). I had some scraps once, it wasn't a terribly attractive wood, though.

I don't know if it has been mentioned in this thread at all, but besides ebony's hardness, it's also used for it's color...ie, won't show dirt, etc, because it's already dark/black.

[azflyman]

Originally Posted by T-Bal

Thanks. What is silica, and what about it makes the wood hard to work with (if that's what you meant)?

Silica is really sand. The same thing they use to make glass. Very hard and abrasive. Ipe is usually beautiful wood. When it ages it changes from a medium brown to almost black. I believe they used Ipe when they rebuilt the New Jersey boardwalk due to its durability. They figured the longevity would outweigh the higher initial cost.

az

[olivier]

Silica is really sand.

like carbon is really diamond...

It's the other way around: sand is really silica.

I've never heard of ipe wood before, I found this topic interesting, I believe it's very hard wood, and I am thinking "how is this tree doing to incorporate silica ?" and "in which form is the silica found in that wood ?"

[Mudfuzz]

http://www.paulogomes.com.br/espelhos.htm

http://www.paulogomes.com.br/

This may be needed
http://www.worldlingo.com/en/product...ranslator.html

[olivier]

Found this in Chemical Abstracts:

Some siliceous timbers of British Guiana. Amos, G. L. Caribbean Forester (1952), Volume Date 1951, 12 133-7. CODEN: CARIAV ISSN: 0366-5321. Journal language unavailable. CAN 46:11823 AN 1952:11823 CAPLUS

Abstract

cf. C.A. 43, 5090i. Timber having a dulling effect on saws, reputed to contain SiO2 or to be resistant to marine borers, was analyzed for SiO2. The SiO2 content in % was: Parinarium parvifolia 0.84; P. montanum 0.60; P. campestre 0.84; Licania persaudii 2.53; L. mollis 1.01; L. majuscula 2.82; L. minutiflora 1.23; L. kunthiana 1.54; L. heteromorpha 1.69; L. grisea 2.40; L. divaricata 0.85; L. densiflora 1.64; Eschweilera subglandulosa 1.31; E. confertiflora 0.13; E. corrugata 0.17; E. decolorans 0.20; E. odora 0.30;. Licania heteromorpha var. perplexans 0.21; L. laxiflora 0.07; L. incana 0.05, but 0.5 is probably more typical; Pouteria guianensis 0.49; Licania utilis 0.01; Eschweilera holcogyne 0.01; Tabebuia capitata 0.01; T. serratifolia 0.01; Hymenaea davissi 0.02; Mora excelsa 0.01; M. gonggrijpii 0.01; Peltogyne venosa var. densiflora 0.02; Swartzia bannia 0.01; S. leiocalycina 0.01; Lecythis davissii 0.02; Brosimum paraense 0.02; Piratinera guianensis 0.02; Aldina insignis 0.03; Andira surinamensis 0.03; Clathrotropis brachypetale 0.01; C. macrocarpa 0.01; Diplotropis purpurea 0.00; Dipteryx odorata 0.01; Vatairea guianensis 0.00; Talisia squarrosa 0.00; Manilkara bidentata 0.00. Though timber rich in SiO2 blunts saws and resists shipborers, not all timber with these properties contains SiO2. Resistance to marine borers can also be caused by alkaloids. Tension wood and gums can also blunt saws.

Kind of old and not much conclusive, good abstract though...

[Ike Harris]

Originally Posted by azflyman

When it ages it changes from a medium brown to almost black.
az

This reminds me of Brazilian rosewood which is available on vintage instruments like older Fender basses. I believe the rosewood widely used nowadays is Indian due to the rainforest issue. I'm thinking there's a tonal difference as well as a visual one as the Brazilian tends to be darker. Was the rosewood on the Kays, etc. Brazilian?

Ike

[azflyman]

I know it is now illegal to harvest and export Brazilian rosewood. I bet it was Brazillian rosewood used for the fretboard as it is darker and more red than Indian.

Some Martin guitars are made of Brazilian rosewood and/or have rosewood fretboards. Martin has some rosewood that has been stockpiled for over 75 yrs.

az