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I`ll be doing a neck re-set on a 70`s Martin.The nut and saddle seem extremely yellow looking.I can`t re-call seeing them quite this yellow.Is it bone or no.When the customer brings the guitar over ,I may be able to tell by listening as I tap the saddle on the work bench. Is there a fool proof method for identifying bone?
James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

James, If you can scratch an inconspicous area it should smell like the dentist drilling on a tooth if it is bone.Plastic won't smell like that.This may not be the answer you were looking for, but that's how i would tell them apart other than a hardness test.Ivory would show a crosshatch pattern in the grain.

Heat up a needle or scalpel blade. Bone has a high melting temperature, plastic doesn't.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

I believe Martin was using Corian in the 70s.

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I believe Martin was using micarta in the 1970's

Martin still uses micarta

While Corian was invented by DuPont in the mid 70's It did not come commercially available till the early 80

70's what? You have a serial number.
My 1971 is ivory nut and saddle.

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When he mentioned reall yellow my thoughts were the same. It may very well be ivory

Michael.
Isn't it sort of quaint that back then, the standard guitar from Martin was equipped with elephant ivory fittings. You hardly get bone on the top of the line anymore.

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Well there are those that hold micarta is a better choice for a bridge and nut. It very well could be mistaken but I belive i read some where resently that Martin as making a move to Tusq. I could be wrong but for some reason that comes to mind. It may be only on units provided with a trasducer and preamp.

Not that this issue matters much, but I was a CF Martin dealer in the 1970's; not a big dealer and I never sold or stocked any high end Martins, ( mostly D18's, D28's HD28's) but at that time, the Martins I sold had micarta nuts and saddles... I would be very much suprized to learn that Martin was still offering ivory in the 1970's..maybe bone (in the early 70's) but not ivory..
maybe retro fitted but not stock

Martin's 1970 catalog lists ivory as standard nut and saddle material. My new '71 D28 came with ivory. That was the catalog that announced IRW in place of BRZ.

Don't know when they moved from that, could have been the guitar after mine.

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I always get micarta and corian confused. They're probably not even similar.

Added/Edit: My 1974 D18S had some kind of manmade nut and saddle. It wasn't bone or Ivory. It was almost 30 years old when I got it so it could have been changed. I don't think Martin used bone until recently but I could be mistaken about that too. My 1955 D18 had (and has) Ivory.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

I`m pretty sure this isn`t ivory.It has a kind of puke yellow look to it.When I get the guitar in hand ,I`ll put some heat to it,if it starts to melt,it ain`t ivory.I`ll also try the scratch and sniff test.That sounds like fun!!!
James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee