Double Bass Fingerboard extensions (on the high side)

[Jake deVilliers]

I think that as long af the grain follows the board length you should not worry. You're starting to split hairs here. Has anyone heard of fingerboard blanks being cut to match the tree rings?

Instrument wood is usually cut to go at 90 degrees to the growth rings, for strength and for stability. Its called 'quartersawn'.

 

[arnoldschnitzer]

Instrument wood is usually cut to go at 90 degrees to the growth rings, for strength and for stability. Its called 'quartersawn'.

However, the best fingerboards are flatsawn, which shows less porosity.

 

[Cody Sisk]

But does the milling really matter much with good black ebony? The grain's so crazy and tight no matter the orientation..

 

[Jake deVilliers]

However, the best fingerboards are flatsawn, which shows less porosity.

Good point!

 

[forester]

+1 flatsawn,straight grain, easier to dress and less likely to have inner tension.

 

[Cody Sisk]

Are we still talking about the small extension on the end of the board or the whole fingerboard?

 

[Big B.]

Hey guys, I know this is an old thread but I would be interested in how this was done. Dowels? Lapjoint? both? I have been thinking about doing this. Many ideas come to mind but I would like to know the traditional method if there is one.

 

[JtheJazzMan]

Indeed I did do it.

My dowel joint idea was unnecessary.

Once I had both pieces of wood totally flat on the joint side, I put a number of dimples in the wood with a drill bit, only drilling in ~1mm to increase surface area, covered both sides with epoxy and clamped. Probably unnecessary too.

I tested the joint on a scrap piece of wood beforehand and the glue is stronger than the wood is.

I left about 2mm of wood extra above the level of the current FB and then carved it down to level and smooth with the existing FB.

PM me if you have any questions about it. Oh and patience is the key, I carved 3 extensions before settling on the one I wanted to use.

Yes its not ebony but it works fine none the less.

 

[JtheJazzMan]

Now you tell me. I wouldn't have gone through all that jazz pizz stuff if you had said that in the begining.
With the name JtheJazzMan and the fact that your Profile lists you as a jazz player I assumed that you were,....uh, a jazz player primarily interested in the pizz value of the extension.

Oh and a follow up on this, the added pizz leverage is useful. I trimmed the extension right where its handy for the pizz leverage but doesnt interfere with arco at all.

 

[Big B.]

Thats great info. Thanks.

 

[Paul Warburton]

Nice job, J.
What made you decide to not use ebony?

 

[JtheJazzMan]

Just availability and expense mainly. I did find a flatsawn piece of ebony about 2 metres long for $2000 dollars, and the wood merchant didnt want to cut a smaller piece off for me.

I know Australian hardwoods have been used for fingerboards, such as Ironwood which can be even harder than ebony. So keep your eyes on this corner of the globe in future for your fingerboard needs if ebony gets too rare.

 

[Paul Warburton]

Does this mean you guys'll have something useful on the world market besides very large cans of beer?

 

[eerbrev]

Does this mean you guys'll have something useful on the world market besides very large cans of beer?

They sell Foster's in North America because they can't give it away in Australia. Kind of Like Molson products in Canada.

 

[Jake deVilliers]

They sell Foster's in North America because they can't give it away in Australia. Kind of Like Molson products in Canada.

+1 And Budweiser in America!

 

[Big B.]

I know Australian hardwoods have been used for fingerboards, such as Ironwood which can be even harder than ebony. So keep your eyes on this corner of the globe in future for your fingerboard needs if ebony gets too rare.[/QUOTE]


I have used a south american wood called Gombiera (sometimes called Brazilian Ebony but not an ebony) that is some of the hardest, straight grained wood I have ever worked with. Very dark color, slightly lighter than ebony and definitely harder but less brittle. Worked wonderfully for fretless BG fingerboards. Other very dense south/central american woods are Ipe, bloodwood and cocobolo. The cocobolo in particular would make a fabulously beautiful fingerboard IMO. Maybe with a sapwood streak in it.

 

[robobass]

+1 And Budweiser in America!

Ha! Get me started on beer. Sorry to hijack the thread, but I have a major rant!

The Fosters North Americans drink is brewed in North America, as are Japanese beers. None of them taste anything like the real product. I have no idea what an Aussie Fosters tastes like, but I bet it is at least a full step above what the Yanks get.

I once went to a bar in Honolulu with a guy from New Zealand and ordered a pint of Coors from the tap. The guy looked at it and me with distress, and asked if that was the way it was supposed to look. The thinness and lack of foam actually disturbed him!

If you live somewhere where you can only get American Bud, don't despair. Czech Budweiser isn't any better, and the company is at least as ruthless in squeezing out competition. Many Czech beers are quite excellent, but you can't get them in many restaurants in Prague because of exclusivity agreements with the Budwar brewery.

Even here in Germany marketing and globalization has exacted a toll. Most small breweries have been bought up, and all the little brands now come from one big factory, and taste like it. There are still great beers here, but I am horrified by what many Germans are willing to drink, especially considering the importance of beer to German culture.

The moral of the story? I don't know. Support your local brewery and luthier. Be prepared to pay a bit more, but demand quality for your money.

 

[George700DL]

If you live somewhere where you can only get American Bud, don't despair. Czech Budweiser isn't any better, and the company is at least as ruthless in squeezing out competition. Many Czech beers are quite excellent, but you can't get them in many restaurants in Prague because of exclusivity agreements with the Budwar brewery.

Little clarification - the original "Budweiser" ("Budvar") is quite excellent. However, Czechs sold the name "Budweiser", so what you buy under "Budweiser", anywhere in the world, is a completely different thing and tastes nothing like the original Budvar. If you can get your hands on the latter, check it out.

Of course "Plzen" (Pilzner), Radegast, Rebel, etc etc beat Budvar in my opinion. I've been out of the Czech Republic for a long time, so I don't know what the situation in Prague is now.

The moral of the story? I don't know. Support your local brewery and luthier. Be prepared to pay a bit more, but demand quality for your money.

Agree - Yuengling for me!

(What was the original thread again?)

 

[robobass]

Little clarification - the original "Budweiser" ("Budvar") is quite excellent. However, Czechs sold the name "Budweiser", so what you buy under "Budweiser", anywhere in the world, is a completely different thing and tastes nothing like the original Budvar. If you can get your hands on the latter, check it out.

Of course "Plzen" (Pilzner), Radegast, Rebel, etc etc beat Budvar in my opinion. I've been out of the Czech Republic for a long time, so I don't know what the situation in Prague is now.



Agree - Yuengling for me!

(What was the original thread again?)

All I can say is that the Budvar you buy in Prague or anywhere else in Czech nowadays is piss. Maybe that wasn't so in years past. I'm also a Yuengling fan. Oldest brewery in the US!