Ebony fretboard cracking and frets displacement problem

[incommunicado]

Guys, I'm writing on behalf of a friend who doesn't speak English. He has this custom bass made by a luthier and until recently everything was ok, but all of a sudden he started noticing that unlike before, the frets started scratching his fingers - they had sprouted out of the fingerboard and some cracks had appeared (in the photos). It's an ebony fingerboard with steel frets. Can something be done about that (apart from filing the frets that is...)? Our guess is that all this is happening because of changes in temperature and humidity, but they're normal - not some dramatic changes, just seasonal...

 

[RichterScale]

Is the season changing to more humidity, or less?
It looks like the ebony is drying out and shrinking a tiny bit.
Also, where are the cracks?

 

[RichterScale]

I'm also wondering if the builder waxed the neck or used some type of finish that smoothed over the fret ends and it's starting to finally wear off.

 

[J Wilson]

Ebony is often left unfinished by some builders. You always want to keep it 'well-hydrated' with non-petroleum lemon oil, linseed oil, any number of oils that will keep them in shape.

Otherwise, the right fingerboard in the wrong place can indeed dry out enough to crack, and shrink and develop some fret sprout in the process. Sometimes, the fret sprout can actually reverse and go away if it's a really dry piece and the sprout is just enough to feel it slightly.

This bass I would oil the fingerboard first, then see and address any fret sprout or other fingerboard issues after it's back in shape. I'd certainly look for some guidance from the builder, if he'll speak to it.

My Alembics were this way, and I used the F1 lemon oil.

This can be an overlooked setup problem. I have a Squire Jazz that I just had to touch up the setup every month or two, and I chalked it up to new wood that wood eventually settle in. Several months ago, I did a full setup with polishing the frets and oiling the rosewood board, and it just DRANK the F1 oil like a sailor on his first shore leave in months. Finally, it had enough, strung it back up, double checked my clearances . . . and it hasn't moved since. Dry fingerboard, who knew it would do that?

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Just looks like classic Fret Sprout to me, and ebony is notorious for checking as it dries out. Best time to file the fret ends flush is dry winter weather, if you do it while it’s humid, they will just re-sprout later. Keeping a humidifier in the case couldn’t hurt.

 

[Gary_M]

This is simply due to the seasonal changes in humidity. Wood moves, it will always move and there is nothing you can do to prevent this. Fret sprout is normal and usually has to be dealt with (ordinarily) once in an instrument's life. The fret ends will need to be carefully filed down while the neck is (hopefully) in it's driest condition.

The "cracks" are likely spaces where some filler has come out during this movement and those will need to be filled again if it bothers your friend.

Ideally, necks are constructed in an environment that is tightly regulated for humidity. That way, when the frets are installed, the neck has a very low moisture content; and consequently when the frets are filed flush, there is less chance of major fret sprout next winter.

Yes, keeping the board oiled regularly can help, but again, you cannot stop wood from expanding and contracting from seasonal humidity changes. Anyone who tells you otherwise does not understand wood movement or is trying to sell you something.

 

[dwizum]

Applying oil doesn't hydrate a piece of wood, water (humidity) hydrates it. Oil just slows down the movement of moisture in/out of the wood. The problem with non drying oils (lemon oil, mineral oil, etc) is that they stay wet, aren't that effective, and need to be reapplied regularly.

If your friend's bass is stored in an environment that changes seasonally, he should contact the builder and ask if the fretboard is bare, unfinished wood. If it is, he should consider getting the board finished with a legitimate drying finish that will permanently seal the wood. There are specialized products for this (i.e. stewmac's fretboard finishing oil) - these products only need to be applied once, and they will leave the fretboard looking and feeling like freshly polished bare wood, but with more protection and stability - a win-win versus leaving the surface bare and oiling it regularly.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

+1 on Stewmac Fingerboard Oil, easy wipe on/wipe off, and it dries overnight, just leaves a nice satin sheen that stays there. I do a couple coats, first one gets drunk up, if it’s bone dry, maybe three coats, but it’s a one time thing.

 

[RichterScale]

Applying oil doesn't hydrate a piece of wood, water (humidity) hydrates it. Oil just slows down the movement of moisture in/out of the wood. The problem with non drying oils (lemon oil, mineral oil, etc) is that they stay wet, aren't that effective, and need to be reapplied regularly.

 

[byacey]

Guys, I'm writing on behalf of a friend who doesn't speak English. He has this custom bass made by a luthier and until recently everything was ok, but all of a sudden he started noticing that unlike before, the frets started scratching his fingers - they had sprouted out of the fingerboard and some cracks had appeared (in the photos). It's an ebony fingerboard with steel frets. Can something be done about that (apart from filing the frets that is...)? Our guess is that all this is happening because of changes in temperature and humidity, but they're normal - not some dramatic changes, just seasonal...View attachment 4705962 View attachment 4705963

Are you sure that's ebony? The tubular pores look to be quite large. I wonder if it's not an inferior wood stained black.

I would clean up the fret enda and call it a day. I don't think you'll get any further shrinkage.

 

[incommunicado]

Thank you, guys, for the the comments, suggestions and advice! I translated all comments to the friend who has the problem and (as suggested by some) he decided to contact the luthier just in case not to mess up things even more. The luthier has given detailed instructions on the phone (since the two live in different countries) and hopefully that will work...Thanks once again for your input!