Official Luthiers Forum!

Acrylic impregnation is particularly common in the wood flooring industry because it controls moisture related dimensional changes and makes them scary durable. The process itself is similar to pressure treating: pull a hard vacuum, then expose it to high pressure (typically 70+ PSI.) When I've done this with water as a super-saturation test, the blocks can literally be heard cracking. There are a few companies who offer this service and naturally I became curious if anyone around here has used it. A project I have where a maple fretboard has been requested immediately comes to mind, because while the customer may not mind it turning ugly over time... It's my company's name on the headstock, Tons of good applications come to mind. I'll see if I can get some samples or data from a few companies to see how it really performs.

If you've used it and have anything to report, I'd love to hear about it. If not, I'll be sure to share my test results and email raw data to anyone who wants to dig a bit deeper.

Look up Larry Davis (Gallery Hardwoods), he's done a lot of work in that area.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

I'm not sure what's in it, but I tried Minwax's wood hardener on walnut for a fretboard. I've heard it's a polymer resin heavily diluted in a solvent. The dilution allows it to soak into the wood, and some scratch tests indicate it is harder and also much less prone to tearing. It's not as hard as I'd hoped, but probably enough for some players. The vacuum method makes sense as it would allow a higher resin content, and better results.

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David Malicky

I came upon a sample chunk of acrylicised dyed box elder burl that Larry Davis from Gallery Hardwoods gave me as a sample. It became part of an installation art piece about 4 years ago. It has been half buried in my yard since. It has warped a bit from being underground in the wet seasons but other than that is holding up well. I’m sure I could wipe the dirt off it and polish it right up if I wanted to. My guess is a fretboard would see less extreme conditions and hold up well.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.