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I bought a large "cant" of this and have cut exactly 2 fretboards. That is about all I can get out of it. Just so cracked, twisty & rotted.
But what there is works and looks beautiful.
For an alternative fretboard wood, this one is an "if only" story.
Peanut shown for scale.

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It looks great. Do you have any pics of the fretboards? Is this the natural color or did you stain it?

Cool!

What's it like to work with?


Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

That is the natural color, not stained, but it is coated with shellac to make it pop. The shellac pad picked up a black stain from the wood.
As far as working, it machines very well, almost ideal. In the planer it seems not to care which direction the grain runs.
It sands easily and polishes right up.
Down side: the saw & sanding dust is nasty, irritating to the nose, must wear a mask.
Upside: it is hard and smooth, an ideal fretboard wood.
Down side: expensive, I bought a large trunk section & got 2 fretboards from it. Twisty, splitty & rotted.
I'll put a picture up of the fretboard later.

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David, I feel your pain. Much promising wood... sometimes little results.
But what does come out really is nice, so hope springs eternal, doesn't it?

Good looking bridge!

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

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nice looking bridge and fretboard David

Anyone know the hardness and strength comparison to traditional tropical ebony? I tried looking it up. What I did find out though is that this shrub is in the pea family and is used in turning and bonsai....Mike

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Man, those are both beautiful! I'd love to try some.

Ken

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Mountain Song Guitars www.mountainsongguitars.com

I suspect this would be more commonly called "Texas persimmon" (Diospyros texans). While persimmons are true ebonies, the small tree known to landscapers as "Texas ebony" and well adapted to arid locations is a member of the family Fabaceae and not remotely related to true ebonies (family Ebenaceae) despite the common name. Texas persimmon has black heartwood and, like other true ebonies, would be quite appropriate for fingerboards and bridges -- the ones pictured here look wonderful! A stem large enough for backs and sides would be extremely rare.

dang iPhone auto correction! Correct spelling of Latin name is "Diospyros texana".

Here's a photo of a trunk from the guy I got it from.
It is Ebenopsis ebano. See: http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/ ... 0ebony.htm

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thanks for pics david ,looks like our persimmon here in KC, but the local stuff is vy black/white streaks,

Well, my suspicions were dead wrong! It's not close to a true ebony (or persimmon), but it sure is purrdy!

There has to be more than two fretboards in that chunk! Or maybe it's too painful to mess with?

Mike

That isn't my chunk. He wants $2,500 for that one, and you have to go get it.
Mine was about 3-1/2" thick x 8" wide x 36" long.
Seriously, 2 boards, the rest was split & rot.
There are a bunch of mandolin boards, but I'm not building mandolins.

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Hey, I'd love to take one or more of those off your hands I've been on the hunt for a domestic fingerboard for my challenge build, and this would look quite nice against the dark redwood top I'm using. Dimensions I need are 12 x 1 3/4 x 3/16" (maybe a bit thicker if it's really rough).

Sad to hear that it's not really viable for full size guitar fingerboards, but at least it makes nice bridges, and ought to be great for bridge plates, head plates, and inlays as well.

I'll look today and see if I can get out a mando board for you, Dennis.

The problem, as I see it, are the few "gatherers" of Texas Ebony don't want to cut it for our use, they just want to chop it up hodge-podge. Or, in the case here, sell a log section for super money, and "come and get it".

I paid $80 for what turned out to be 2 fret boards and misc. bridges.

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This site has current listings for Texas Ebony currently available: http://www.woodbarter.com/ Seems to be have quite a stockpile.

Good Luck

That's the same guy.
Funny, I looked through all his pictures, I didn't see a fretboard in the pile.
It's a shame about this stuff.

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