Ebony shrinks over time, right?

[LowEndLobster]

I think some of the ebony veneer in my thumbs neck is shrinking on the body side. You can feel the groove where the ebony is. Is there any way to fix this ?

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Ebony is usually pretty suseptible to weather changes. It may be a result of the colder climate we're getting here in NE.

 

[LowEndLobster]

Ebony is usually pretty suseptible to weather changes. It may be a result of the colder climate we're getting here in NE.

Yeh, It's stable in my house, but before my SX, I had to use it for a few out door marching band things. (ANd it got a scratch on the back )

 

[Geoff St. Germaine]

Yeh, It's stable in my house, but before my SX, I had to use it for a few out door marching band things. (ANd it got a scratch on the back )

I don't think that it shrinks over time. It seems that it is more susceptible to humidity related expansion/contraction than some other woods. IIRC, some people with ebony boards have noted that during the winter they can feel the fret ends, but in the summer they can't, due to humidity changes.

-Geoff

 

[rockindoc]

I don't think that it shrinks over time. It seems that it is more susceptible to humidity related expansion/contraction than some other woods. IIRC, some people with ebony boards have noted that during the winter they can feel the fret ends, but in the summer they can't, due to humidity changes.

-Geoff

Agreed. A properly cured piece of wood is pretty dry and shouldn't shrink. It would more likely expand if humidity moistens it. Then I suppose it could shrink back to it's "cured" size when it dries out again.

And IIRC, wood fibers swell or contract in a direction perpendicular to the grain. This would cause slight expansion or shrinkage along the edges of the neck (as Geoff referred to), rather than at the ends.