Slightly cracked ebony fretboard - help?

[Dave L]

I´m in the middle of closing a deal on a rare mapletop Collen Archtop Pro, but when the seller was changing the strings and cleaning the fretboard yesterday he noticed a crack in the ebony, running in the direction of the neck, around the sixth fret. I have yet to receive detailed info on the damage, but since he hasn´t noticed it earlier I´m guessing it can´t be that bad.

So, what can I expect from this if I buy it? Should I stay away? Is the crack a sign of stress in the neck or just from drying out? Will careful oiling prevent it from further cracking? Is he, as well as I, just overreacting? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

In short, any comments would be helpful since I haven´t encountered any cracked fretboards before!

[Dave L]

Re: Slightly cracked ebony fretboard - help?

I just got word from him. It isn´t a single crack, but in fact what he describes as a series of hairline cracks moving from fret to fret roughly along a line from the sixth fret upward. Any thoughts on how I should proceed with this?

[mogar]

Re: Slightly cracked ebony fretboard - help?

I don't think that those hairline cracks will do anything bad at the moment, but if they all end up forming one giant crack you might have to remove all the frets, repair the crack, then refret. I'm not sure of this though; haven't had to work on many fretboards.

[Dave L]

Re: Slightly cracked ebony fretboard - help?

Thanks, man. Anyone else care to chime in?

[MountainDog]

Re: Slightly cracked ebony fretboard - help?

About half of my ebony fingerboard Jacksons had these little hairline cracks when I received the guitar, and they've never gotten worse over the years and have never caused any problems. They are probably from the fingerboard being too dry, so a normal conditioning routine would be good.

There's been talk on the board in the past about these cracks, and one 'bro spoke of lightly sanding the fingerboard to get some 'ebony dust' and use that & some glue to fill the cracks to make them disappear.

I'd proceed with the purchase....then of course you need to post the obligatory pics!

[Dave L]

Re: Slightly cracked ebony fretboard - help?

Thanks, MountainDog. That´s exactly what I wanted to hear. Did any of your guitars have hairline cracks running pretty much up the entire board like this one does?

And if I get it pics are of course soon to follow [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[MountainDog]

Re: Slightly cracked ebony fretboard - help?

Yeah, some just have a single 1/2" or 1" crack, and a couple have multiple long cracks up and down. It's gotten to the point that when I get an ebony fretboard with these I just think of it as normal.

Ebony is a very hard wood with a very tight grain and that combination would be most affected by drying out and/or temp/humidity changes. I'd even venture to say that the cracks probably appreared realitively early in the guitar's life, probably when the fingerboard needed it's 1st conditioning.

[Dave L]

Re: Slightly cracked ebony fretboard - help?

The seller says he doesn´t know when these cracks occured, but that he didn´t notice them until yesterday. He has had it for while, and has done some oiling/conditioning on it... so it could very well be old cracks that have either gotten a wee bit worse or just caught his eye now because he is selling it.

[YetAnotherOne]

Re: Slightly cracked ebony fretboard - help?

I wouldn't worry too much about it, the worst effect they're likely to have is on your resale value. This is what the board on a Gibson I recently acquired looked like when it showed up. That one exhibits no ill effects despite the numerous fretboard cracks.

[Dave L]

Re: Slightly cracked ebony fretboard - help?

Well, the cracks definitely had an ill effect on his resale value [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] He dropped the price to 3500 swedish crowns, which is what a new JS30 sells for at Swedens biggest music chain. I believe I´m getting a pretty good deal.

[peedenmark7]

Re: Slightly cracked ebony fretboard - help?

mtn dog is correct many of the guitars jackson ships has/had these tiny cracks .. as long as they remain static you should never have a problem... if its the cosmetic end of these cracks that bothers you...
simply do what jacksons does, put super glue on the cracked area, let it dry then scrape the glue back level with the board with a razor blade , steel wool then reoil.....

or if the cracks are minor , try soaking the board down with mineral oil ,the fingerboard will "slowly" suck that up and swell them shut....using lemon oil will not help...
john

[Dave L]

Re: Slightly cracked ebony fretboard - help?

Mineral oil? Would you care to expand on that?

[MountainDog]

Re: Slightly cracked ebony fretboard - help?

Dave L, 3500 swedish krona right? That's $498US for a Collin Arch Pro....a killer deal!! [img]/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img] Congrats!

Mineral oil: Here in the US we add fragrance to mineral oil and call it baby oil (Encyclopedia) . It's also used on wood kichenware to preserve the wood, here's an example: Mineral Oil on web

[sully]

Re: Slightly cracked ebony fretboard - help?

VERY common to have those kinda cracks. easily fixed with superglue and a razor blade. don't use sandpaper for it. i think i smell another tacked thread coming! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

sully

[shreddermon]

Re: Slightly cracked ebony fretboard - help?

I'd get pics first just to be safe. But, yeah, probably not a big deal. Usually just a cosmetic issue, and a relatively easy fix to that, even.

I had my first experience with this about a year ago, and Sully et al gave me great tips to fill 'em in. [img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]