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  #1  
Old 09-07-2017, 10:20 AM
Osage Osage is offline
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Default Desert Ironwood fingerboard

A customer wants me to build him a guitar with a Desert Ironwood board. I've never used it and am wondering what you guys think of it tonally? I typically use Indian Rosewood or Ebony. Does it compare favorably to them? Good or bad idea to use it? The build will be a 00 12 fret.

Thanks.
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Old 09-07-2017, 11:39 AM
redir redir is offline
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Personally I don't give much consideration to tone when selecting a fretboard. I do think that the neck imparts a lot of tonal characteristics to tone but imho that would be a small part not worth fretting over, pun intended.
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Old 09-07-2017, 12:10 PM
Rudy4 Rudy4 is online now
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It's sometimes difficult to find ironwood in fretboard size. I've used it a few times and I think it machines similarly to ebony with no effect on tone. The larger problem will be discoloration from dirt and oils down the line which can end up being not very attractive.
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Old 09-07-2017, 12:17 PM
Truckjohn Truckjohn is offline
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More than anything else... I would want a clean, stable, straight grain without knots and twist as much as possible. I have had some issues with fretboard blanks that had knot shadow.. And they would twist all over the place at the knot shadow when the seasons changed. Unacceptable.

Beautiful wood isn't always stable. Since this customer supplied wood is a potential warranty issue - there needs to be an understanding that it may be rejected at your sole discretion..
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Old 09-07-2017, 12:55 PM
murrmac123 murrmac123 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Truckjohn View Post
. Since this customer supplied wood is a potential warranty issue - there needs to be an understanding that it may be rejected at your sole discretion..
The OP doesn't state specifically that the board is customer supplied, although of course it may well be. As I read it, he might be instructed to source a desert ironwood board.

If the customer has some macho obsession with having the hardest possible wood in his fretboard , then I suggest that you put forward the possibility of using a piece of Australian buloke, and tell him that it will involve a substantial upcharge because of wear and tear on tools.

I worked with this stuff once (not on a fretboard) ... I would hate to cut fret slots in it, but I s'pose if I was paid enough ...
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Old 09-07-2017, 02:54 PM
Osage Osage is offline
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Hi,

I should clarify. The customer will be suppling the wood, which is something I don't normally allow but I know him and he understands the risks involved. He has a beautiful dark piece that he's had for years and I think it will make a good board. The grain is straight and there are a couple of small completely tight knot shadows. The wood is actually beautiful and I think it will look great. He's not looking for the hardest board possible, he just really likes this piece of wood.
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Old 09-07-2017, 06:14 PM
mirwa mirwa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Osage View Post
Hi,

The customer will be suppling the wood, which is something I don't normally allow but I know him and he understands the risks involved. He has a beautiful dark piece that he's had for years and I think it will make a good board.
I find it harder than ebony, on a traditional fret slot, I will side sand the tangs a little so it does not back bow the neck. If I am running a cnc program to slot the fretboard, I usually make the slot half a thou wider than the width of the tang itself.

Steve
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Old 09-07-2017, 06:37 PM
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Quote:
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...think of it tonally?....
I'm thinking "if you are considering tonal implications of the fingerboard wood you are barking up the wrong tree......probably in the wrong forest.:
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Old 09-07-2017, 07:21 PM
Osage Osage is offline
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I'm thinking "if you are considering tonal implications of the fingerboard wood you are barking up the wrong tree......probably in the wrong forest.:

Hmmmm.... I consider the tonal implications of everything I do when I'm building, including fingerboard wood and thickness. 100 small decisions or actions make a huge difference in the end results.
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Old 09-07-2017, 07:23 PM
Osage Osage is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mirwa View Post
I find it harder than ebony, on a traditional fret slot, I will side sand the tangs a little so it does not back bow the neck. If I am running a cnc program to slot the fretboard, I usually make the slot half a thou wider than the width of the tang itself.

Steve

Thanks Steve. I was actually wondering about this. I slot fingerboards by hand but was actually wishing I had a cnc for this one.
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