# Ebony Grain vs Cracks



## Jonathan20022 (Oct 6, 2013)

Hey guys! I figured I'd post this here because it's handling of wood, and since luthiers are here it'd be cool to see their take on this.

I was playing on my JP12 today, and I noticed these hairline "things" for a lack of better word, in the Ebony Fretboard.

Now is this something I should worry about and how should I treat it? When I looked at my JPXI fretboard there were none of these things on the fretboard, so I can only assume it's something that happened. I keep both guitars in the exact same place at room temperature.

But yes it seems worrying that one guitar has them and one doesn't, some look like they're cracks which freaked me out at first by they're not. Are they early signs of what could happen?















That last picture was the most concerning one of all, as I don't mind a bit of grain but those long ones look scary 

Mods, sorry if this is in the wrong area. Didn't know where else to put it.


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## djpharoah (Oct 6, 2013)

That's ebony for you. Just make sure you oil it regularly if you live in a dry/humid place since the yearly expansion and contraction due to the humidity can cause cracks and not allow them to close back up. Use a good oil like Fret Dr. every string change. The wood is extremely brittle and needs to be oiled. That being said the photo looks normal however just be vigilant and check that nothing gets worse.


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## XxJoshxX (Oct 6, 2013)

It just looks like natural grain to me


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## Negav (Oct 6, 2013)

That's the grain. Remember that some ebony boards are treated to have them look completely black and grain-filled to look perfect. Looks perfectly fine to me, quite natural to be honest. Just remember to oil it when it needs to be so that the grain doesn't turn into a crack.


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## Merge (Oct 6, 2013)

I have a 6 string with an ebony fretboard. The fretboard cracked last winter, I had the guitar hanging on the wall directly about a baseboard heater. Like the others said, that looks like the grain of the wood. The cracks that were in mine were longer and wider. Thankfully, the guy that built it gave me a lifetime warranty on everything. I took it back, and he filled the cracks with ebony dust. He told me "don't hang it over a heater again", lol.


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## Jonathan20022 (Oct 6, 2013)

Good to hear guys! Thanks so much, I looked into Dr. Fret and from what people say it's basically Bore Oil, would that have the same exact effect?

Also here's my XI fretboard that I pulled out, looks drastically different but you can see under light that it looks like most of the grain has been filled in.

Also should be mentioned that all my guitars are kept in the corner of my room, inside their respective cases at ALL times when they're not being played. So they're just up against a wall lined up, no heater around.


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## Negav (Oct 6, 2013)

No problem here. Maybe they forgot to grain-fill it, or they bought the piece from another source. I think bore oil would have the same effect, I've hear people saying how marvelous it is. Never tried it on my own though.


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## djpharoah (Oct 6, 2013)

Different cuts/species of "ebony" - don't stress. Just play the guitars


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## mwcarl (Oct 6, 2013)

Negav said:


> No problem here. Maybe they forgot to grain-fill it, or they bought the piece from another source. I think bore oil would have the same effect, I've hear people saying how marvelous it is. Never tried it on my own though.



Ebony isn't usually grain-filled. Just enjoy the natural texture of the wood. Ebony is prone to cracking, but there's none of it in any of those photos.


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## Jonathan20022 (Oct 6, 2013)

djpharoah said:


> Different cuts/species of "ebony" - don't stress. Just play the guitars



Haha definitely, I won't put too much thought into it then since it's not too big of a deal!



mwcarl said:


> Ebony isn't usually grain-filled. Just enjoy the natural texture of the wood. Ebony is prone to cracking, but there's none of it in any of those photos.



That's good, so you'd say these things just happen from expansion? I'll keep an eye on the XI also to see if anything develops on it.



Negav said:


> No problem here. Maybe they forgot to grain-fill it, or they bought the piece from another source. I think bore oil would have the same effect, I've hear people saying how marvelous it is. Never tried it on my own though.



Awesome! And cool, let me get a little more input on the Bore Oil and I'll look around the town for a small bottle of the stuff to use.


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## Youne (Oct 7, 2013)

XxJoshxX said:


> It just looks like natural grain to me


 Totally agreed with you! that's the grain. You can use lemon oil too and prevent the moisture by using very fine steel whole (0000 or 00000 steel whole) when you apply the oil.
But before it cracks, you can wait a very biiiiiiiig lifetime ! 'Cause it's glued so it prevents cracks.... The wood is stronger glued than normal


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## tedtan (Oct 7, 2013)

Jonathan20022 said:


> Good to hear guys! Thanks so much, I looked into Dr. Fret and from what people say it's basically Bore Oil, would that have the same exact effect?


 
Bore oil is fine, it's what I use. I haven't tried Fret Dr., but I like the bore oil a lot better than lemon oil.


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## Jonathan20022 (Oct 7, 2013)

Bore Oil it is! Musician's Friend sells these things for 1.75 so I'm buying 4 bottles to keep around. At that price you can't afford to not stock up when shipping costs more than the product itself


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## demonx (Oct 9, 2013)

If the grain in Ebony worries you then stay away from Wenge!

As te guys above have said, it looks completely normal.


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## angus (Oct 9, 2013)

I'll disagree with the lot- the majority of that is completely normal, but the two longer cracks will eventually increase in size. You can either wait until it happens (which could be over the winter now, or in 20 years, but will eventually) and then fix, or just fill it now. Those longer cracks are so thin that they do not need to be filled with any ebony dust- just a drop or two of very thin CA glue. Wick in, then wipe off excess, and you are set. 

If it were me, I'd probably just monitor them for now and fix once you notice progression. 

All of it is normal for ebony. Bore oil is a great for maintenance. Some ebony expands and contracts more than other pieces, and this one has moved around a bit. Nothing to worry about.


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## Jonathan20022 (Oct 11, 2013)

demonx said:


> If the grain in Ebony worries you then stay away from Wenge!
> 
> As te guys above have said, it looks completely normal.



Haha it doesn't so much worry me, I've just heard about Ebony cracks and didn't know if these were them or not just to take care of them. But Wenge feels incredible on the Prestige Basses I've played, wouldn't mind owning one 



angus said:


> I'll disagree with the lot- the majority of that is completely normal, but the two longer cracks will eventually increase in size. You can either wait until it happens (which could be over the winter now, or in 20 years, but will eventually) and then fix, or just fill it now. Those longer cracks are so thin that they do not need to be filled with any ebony dust- just a drop or two of very thin CA glue. Wick in, then wipe off excess, and you are set.
> 
> If it were me, I'd probably just monitor them for now and fix once you notice progression.
> 
> All of it is normal for ebony. Bore oil is a great for maintenance. Some ebony expands and contracts more than other pieces, and this one has moved around a bit. Nothing to worry about.



Oh really? Let me get some more pictures in the morning of them, the Bore oil came in today, so I'll be treating them with that too. If CA Glue is all it'll take to prevent the future cracks, I'm all for it.

Good to know that it's normal though!


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