Bamboo or eucalyptus basses or fingerboards

[Bill Whitehurst]

With that kind of stiffness I bet it could make a neck that could stay straight and be very shallow front to back at the same time.
It might not look pretty, but I find that I spend more time feeling the neck than looking at it.

 

[moon-bass]

If I have extra boards after the install I'll gladly donate to someone that's willing to experiment. That, or the company sends out free samples if someone ones to take an in person look.

 

[wysiwyg248]

I am sure this was mentioned previously, I'd caution to check into two things.
Engineered materials are very hard, make sure you have the right tools to produce what you want.
Check thermal expansion/contraction coeficient to ensure is close enough to the neck material, to avoid twisting and buckling, also check the effect of humidity if you live in such environment.

 

[Wolfhound32]

My wife and I are getting our floors redone (hurricane Ida damage). Long story short, we are using bamboo and eucalyptus flooring.

Dig this wood. It's engineered, and from what I gather, it's b/e fibers pressed together in a hydraulic press, and from what I gather it's pretty extreme pressure.

Here are the details on it - Janka Hardness Scale | Flooring Durability Test Explained | CALI

The result is awesome. It looks and feels like real wood, but it's super hard. 5000+ on the Janka scale.

I admit, we were skeptical at first, so we ordered some samples. For the past six months, we put the samples through their paces. We used them as coasters. We hit them with axes and hammers. Left a sample in a bucket of water for a few days. Etc.

The only thing that I didn't do was shoot at them, but tbh I'd be afraid of the ricochet lol.

Anyways, this wood is impressive. Those samples came through all of that barely scathed. I mean, direct hammer blows, and not even a dent.

So, bass nerd that I am, I started thinking about a fretless board made out of this type of wood. I could imagine that it would be difficult to work with, but I would imagine that it would be a killer, killer fretless board. Also, the coating on the wood is super strong - perhaps that coating could be used to coat existing boards.

Anyone out there familiar with this type of wood and possible bass applications?

Taylor has been using eucalyptus in fretboards... https://woodandsteel.taylorguitars.com/issue/2020-issue-3/ask-bob/ask-bob-eucalyptus-fretboards/

 

[Oldbasslover]

My wife and I are getting our floors redone (hurricane Ida damage). Long story short, we are using bamboo and eucalyptus flooring.

Dig this wood. It's engineered, and from what I gather, it's b/e fibers pressed together in a hydraulic press, and from what I gather it's pretty extreme pressure.

Here are the details on it - Janka Hardness Scale | Flooring Durability Test Explained | CALI

The result is awesome. It looks and feels like real wood, but it's super hard. 5000+ on the Janka scale.

I admit, we were skeptical at first, so we ordered some samples. For the past six months, we put the samples through their paces. We used them as coasters. We hit them with axes and hammers. Left a sample in a bucket of water for a few days. Etc.

The only thing that I didn't do was shoot at them, but tbh I'd be afraid of the ricochet lol.

Anyways, this wood is impressive. Those samples came through all of that barely scathed. I mean, direct hammer blows, and not even a dent.

So, bass nerd that I am, I started thinking about a fretless board made out of this type of wood. I could imagine that it would be difficult to work with, but I would imagine that it would be a killer, killer fretless board. Also, the coating on the wood is super strong - perhaps that coating could be used to coat existing boards.

Anyone out there familiar with this type of wood and possible bass applications?

I have not personally worked with bamboo in the past, but I do know that bamboo can’t be refinished like traditional hardwood floors - it’s one and done, so I am not sure how bamboo with be able to be refretted and it can’t be refinished, so I’m not sure its a great idea…

 

[Durham52]

I don't know which varieties of eucalyptus are available in the USA, but there are quite a few that are regularly used in flooring here in Australia. (not surprisingly...) Most eucalypts are harder than maple and also heavier, some being very heavy. I've used a few species in guitars and basses over close to 40 years, but not all are suitable. Some species are not stable enough for uses such as necks, others would be problematic due to weight.

I've used eucalyptus regnans, commonly known as Mountain Ash, or Tasmanian Oak. Also Jarrah, Red Gum and Rose Gum (there are other native Australian woods that are used in instrument making, but are not eucalypts)
E regnans is the most commonly available, it weight 42lbs per square foot and has a Janka hardness rating of 5,400N

Red Gum is 54lbs/ft3 and 9,600N. Rose Gum, 4olbs/ft3 and 5,600N. Jarrah, 52lbs/ft3 and 8,270N.
Jarrah and Red Gum make great fretboards. There color is from dark orange red through to deep almost purple red.
Pics. Jarrah, Red Gum, Red Gum,

Link Removed

 

[moon-bass]

I have not personally worked with bamboo in the past, but I do know that bamboo can’t be refinished like traditional hardwood floors - it’s one and done, so I am not sure how bamboo with be able to be refretted and it can’t be refinished, so I’m not sure its a great idea…

You wouldn't need to refinish a bass to regret it. I've actually never seen a board (other than maple) need a refinish. Plus, these newer floors can be refinished, so it's a moot point.

These newer bamboo and euctfloots are very different than the ones from 10 years ago ..

 

[Triad]

I've been using woven Bamboo for fingerboards for a few years... "natural" Bamboo is a completely different material.

 

[TrustRod]

The makerspace I use just got a donation of a bunch of bamboo sheets, 1/2 and 3/4 inch 4 x 8 sheets. They are very hard and perfectly straight. I suspect eventually I may prefer it to Baltic Birch type plywood but so far I've just held a few pieces.

Adding to the eucalyptus horror stories, in Los Angeles we had a lot of it. It was put up as windbreaks and was also supposed to be a magical fast growing tree that would supply us with cheap lumber. The problem was it didn't grow slowly into nice hardwood as it did in Australia but grew fast and weak and would drop huge limbs for no reason so it's also very dangerous to have around.

That said I think if we call it Pandawood it might market well.

 

[ardgedee]

I've been using woven Bamboo for fingerboards for a few years... "natural" Bamboo is a completely different material.

Can you elaborate on this? I'd like to see examples and maybe hear a little about how you use them.

 

[Triad]

Bamboo lined fretless fingerboard. Harder/heavier than Ebony, moves less than wood but it's like using a very annoying piece of Wengé. Splinters are very irritating for the skin.
I mainly use it on ERBs as it's very stable and usually available in wide blanks. Resawing it is no fun, and so is planing it to final thickness.