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Double Bass Tidying up and re-dyeing fretboard

P

ProfChris

Mar 1, 2024
44
52
#1
My 1980s hybrid bass (Boosey and Hawkes, Golden Strad, Romanian student bass) has a dyed wood fretboard, probably maple.

The board has suffered from the previous owner's enthusiastic slap playing. This has left small ridges between the string paths as the fretboard wore under each string, and has worn away the dyed portions along much of the middle part. It plays reasonably well, but it could look and feel better. There is still plenty of meat to the board, I don't believe it's been worked on since new.

My plan is to:
  • even out the board using a fine-set scraper and final sanding with 320 grit
  • re-dye using an alcohol-soluble black dye (which I've used before on the instruments I've built, none of them violin family though)
  • seal the board to prevent black fingers when playing
The basic fretboard geometry looks about right under a straight edge and plays OK, though there are a couple of places with slight humps which I'll correct. I plan to use a 12 inch steel rule along the string paths, looking to achieve a uniform gap as I slide the rule along the board.

Questions:
  1. Is this the right way to set about the task? If it helps, I think I'm unlikely to play many (if any) notes above the body join.
  2. Does the fretboard need sealing after dyeing? If so, with what? The unworn portions look as if they have been sealed, giving the board a sheen but not a glossy finish. I'm thinking shellac, which I have, but I know from experience it's not a hard-wearing finish.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
#2
There are many ways to do it. You want to use a block plane. Most people use longer straight edges, 3' and 2' to get the correct curve. My opinion you need a fixed blade scraper, like a Lie Nielsen small scraper. You can finish with a L-Nielsen small scraper plane, or hit spots, but you can't get ruts out. Something like a card scraper can create unevenness. You need to check the whole length of the board, or you will just move the buzzes around. Its not a simple or easy job. If you really mess it up it sounds like you need a new ebony board anyway
 
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#4
I know from experience that the dye penetrates less than 1/32 inch, so I'm confident I can preserve the joint with the neck. I've built around 50 instruments, mainly using hide glue. But is there a better, non-alcohol dye? The usual recommendation for guitar fretboards is leather dye which is alcohol based.

I have a Record 80 scraper plane, but I'd rejected that because of the scoop. Will it work on a slightly concave surface? I'll give it a try on the slight hump, because I know from bitter experience about scraping unwanted dips, thanks for the suggestion. The ridges run lengthwise, and I think I'll do better on those with the card scraper because I'm more used to it for delicate work and am taking the ridge down to the rest of the board so I have a reference surface to work with. If I start making dips I'll switch to scraper plane or block plane before I reach the point that I'm making things worse.

Any thoughts about sealing? I recognise that most of the basses represented here have ebony boards which don't need finishing, so maybe I have to just try shellac and see how it goes.

The bass plays pretty well in spite of the wear, so I'm mainly trying to improve the cosmetics.
 
#7
Thanks all - helpful thoughts all round. I should have thought of BLO, I use it on guitar and uke fretboards. I'll start with a block plane and see how I get on, report back when done.

The bass has obviously been in a few bar fights, so I'm attempting cosmetic improvements, not a restoration.
 
#8
The deed is done!

This is what I started with:

1000002184 copy.jpeg


With the strings off, the troughs and ridges were more pronounced than I had thought:

1000002186 copy.jpeg


After considering it for a little I decided to remove as little wood as possible. The theory is that I can always go back and do more work, and if I do I'll have a fraction more experience under my belt!

So I decided to aim for a reasonably even surface from nut to neck join, which is where I play 99% of the time, leaving any really deep divots for filling on another occasion. As I turned out, there was only one divot deeper than the others, and it doesn't sit under a note, so I left that. From neck join to fingerboard end I decided just to remove roughness and take the tops off the most prominent ridges.

I used a scraper and a block plane - the scraper turned out to be best at removing excess wood, while the block plane was best for final finishing to ensure there were no humps and bumps (planing was from 8 inches or so past the body joint to the nut). I was careful not to remove anything in the 1/8 inch before the nut so that I would n't need to adjust that - it seems spot on to me.

So, this is the outcome before dyeing (and no, that's not a crack, just discolouration in the wood!). Might it be beech? It seemed to work more easily than soft maple.

1000002187 copy.jpeg
1000002190 copy.jpeg


Here we are after dyeing. You can see where I worked and where I left the board largely untouched.

1000002192 copy.jpeg


And this morning...

It plays better than before - I'd had difficulty making a clean C on the G string, which I put down to lack of technique. But there was a trench along the string path, deepest at the C, and now it has gone I can get that note without buzzing!

I've maintained the original scoop pretty much - it was really only scooped from body join to nut, and only about 1mm deep, but that played OK before and does now.

1000002202 copy.jpeg



Many thanks for the advice, which helped me in making the decisions along the way.
 
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#9
My remaining issue, and thus next question, might be about a different finish from boiled linseed oil. The finish at the very end of the fingerboard was largely intact, and that was (a) shinier than BLO cures to, and also (b) filled the grain.

Plus the dye is still coming off on my fingers, though I know that will reduce as the BLO cures.

I wondered about making up some wiping varnish, something like polyurethane varnish, BLO and mineral spirits in equal proportions. That dries to a sheen which is similar to polished ebony. Is there any reason why I shouldn't try this? Worst case is I strip it off and remove some more high spots from the board.
 
#11
Ok, I hold my hands up!

I've planed dozens of fretboards, just this one fingerboard. (Query, do viols have fingerboards, fretboards, or live in some quantum state until you can see the gut tied on?)

I'm still getting grey fingers, but fainter each day, so I'm calling this a success. The bass certainly plays better.
 
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