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So I'm planning my build for Wudwerker's Doc u build, and I've got some options, but am getting a bit stumped on choice of fretboard and bridge. Clearly ebony and rosewoods are out, since the criteria is inidigenous woods.

What North American Woods approximate the characteristics of Ebony, or Rosewwods? Any dark woods in those options?

As a rosewood substitute I'm aware of Osage Orange, and Black Locust. Any others? Thanks.

Desert Ironwood, Texas Ebony, Manzanita. Doubt if they'll help you stay under the $150.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
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Texas ebony (not a true ebony), persimmon (a true ebony, but mostly white...), mesquite, and desert ironwood would be my top choices. TE is hard to find though, and ironwood is a little pricey for this competition, though not impossible. I got a nice fingerboard from http://www.arizonaironwood.com/ for $30, but I'm saving it for something special.

I'll be on the hunt for some osage when I get started on my harp ukulele for the challenge. I think I'll try suntanning it. But to make it easier, I'll get the fingerboard all slotted and ready for gluing and fretting without any further surfacing, and then toss it out in the yard for a week or two. That way I don't have to worry about the rest of the instrument being exposed to the elements. It turns a gorgeous dark orange when fully oxidized and UV exposed. Check out this tree I ran across in a park last weekend:

I'm also looking for suitable north american wood for fretboards and bridges. Would like to find sources for osage orange, texas ebony, mesquite or ??.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Ah, good point. I do think I'm going to go "hyper - local" and try to build with really local woods, so I think I'm going to opt out of the cocobolo.

Hickory is another option, the heartwood is a medium brown.

Chuck

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Black walnut might be good for bridges but too soft for fingerboards.

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

What About Hard Maple ?

And Why dont we put these type threads in the challenge subforum ? Just a idea , no biggie .

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Until your comment, I felt like I was missing something - now I see the subforum. Will do.

I've used a lot of persimmon. It takes a stain made by boiling black walnut hulls in water very nicely, and so do several other local woods such as hophornbeam, hard maple, and apple.

One of my favorite 'local' fingerboard woods is soft shell almond. A student got me some from a fire wood pile in California. It looks a lot like cherry, but is much harder and denser, and has a very tight grain. It's also browner, rather than the red of cherry wood. It is too tight grained to take the walnut stain well, alas. You might get somewhere with a venegar/iron stain.

Another dense, dark brown wood is 'mountain mahogany'. I got a piece from a pallet once: I was cutting some up for fire wood, and the electric chain saw just stopped when it reached that slat. I didn't find out what it was until later. It was certainly big enoughfor a fretboard, except for the nail holes...

How about Pecan?

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

I've got a small piece of Mesquite that is certainly hard enough and dense enough to fit the bill. It works/machines about the same as African Blackwood, which is used for bridges.

Although Myrtlewood seems to have a range of density....the denser stuff would also work.

And Black Walnut also. I have some of that and it seems more than hard enough.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

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I used a pecan pallet board to make the fingerboard and bridge on one of my first guitars. It felt a bit coarse under my fingers, but no more so than Indian rosewood. Hickory heartwood, which is functionally the same as pecan, is also a possibility.
I found a Texas ebony board at the local hardwood supplier for $20, and it made three fingerboards. This is unusual, because Texas ebony generally has a lot of defects that reduce the yield.



Persimmon very rarely has black streaks in the sapwood, making it resemble black and white ebony:

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John

Here is some persimmon I cut off my place.

I've used hard maple for fingerboards and bridges (for nylon string guitars) and was very satisfied with it. If you want it dark, I've done that, too. Stained it with aniline dark brown and then flooded it with CA. A couple years in and it still looks great.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
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Or get some roasted maple .. comes in birdseye and curly, or plain too, about 7-8 bucks a bd ft .... and is a nice caramel colr (carmelized), or dark brown (roasted)

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Just what I was thinking! I am going to Exotic Woods in a couple of weeks to pick up some indigenous woods for my challenge build.

Alex

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Just curious, where can you get roasted maple in the states?