Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey everybody,
So I have two fingerboard blanks which are pretty unique and somewhat irreplaceable and I was wondering how to protect them. One is a live edge piece of Bois de Rose and the other is a very old piece of old growth Madagascar Ebony gifted to me by a retired guitar maker. The Bois De Rose appears to have shellac or something on the ends. As for the Ebony, this piece is OLD, I mean really old, I don't see anything on the ends of it and I am really worried about checking. Currently it is in my bedroom closet and the only protection I have on it is a plastic bag on both ends
Any ideas? I was considering Anchorseal classic or perhaps beeswax
thanks,
Benjamin

I wouldn't worry about the ebony blank too much. If it's that old and has survived this long without checking, it should continue to do so just fine, especially if it's stored in a relatively climate controlled space. The wax and so forth you see on blanks is put on there when the wood is still wet to prevent it from drying too fast at the end grain edges compared to the center.

If it will help you sleep at night, feel free to coat the end grain with something but again, it's made it this long....

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As Andy said.
But it will not hurt & may make you not worry to put some
shellac on the ends of the Ebony one.

Keep it away from heat.
Humidity no lower than 40%
If you should notice some fine cracks then thin super glue & sanding dust.

Mike

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Mike Collins

+1.
Checking mainly occurs when wood is freshly cut....unless it has been glued up with cross-grain construction. Short of baking an old fingerboard blank in an oven or dunking it in water, I doubt that you can hurt it.

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John

Thanks for the responses!