I haven't actually experienced this but I would probably sand the fingerboard to get rid of the humps then epoxy it which would fill in the depressions and give you a very durable surface. Failing that (and a far more radical repair) Stew Mac sells fingerboard blanks - an ebony one is under $50 but replacing it may be a big job.

Jens Zastrow in here is worth searching out; he's lots of good experience epoxying fingerboards. His AB page has some great examples.

If you like the sound of ebony, I'd sand. But Jens has more experience.

If sanding, get a long radiused sanding block (Stewart MacDonald or Luthiers Mercantile). Getting a short one also might prove handy. Carvin should be able to let you know the radius of the fingerboard.

OK. Sounds like a good plan. I had thought of going the epoxy route. Anyone got a good comparison of ebony vs. epoxy sound with flatwounds?

Dave

I also sent a message to Jens Zastrow about the differences in epoxy vs. ebony. I like the sound of the ebony, but I might like epoxy better. It would definitely last longer!

I had a similar problem only mine is a fretted bass. But, I just wore the fretts out. The guy who refretted it sanded it down. It turned out nice you can't tell.

Dave

I would suggest that you need to resand the fretboard flat first, then as previously suggested if yopu want to epoxy, take Jens advice, he is the master of Epoxy finishes.

I only use wipe on poly on my fretboards, they will wear a little bit (I use halfrounds on my fretlesses) but I will just sand them and refinish them again. I have been using my first built fretlesses for about 3 years and it is still ok.

Gumby

Thanks for all the responses. To be honest, my biggest fear with sanding is how much material am I going to be taking off. How many times can a fingerboard be sanded before it has to be replaced? Also, should the nut be removed for sanding? I figured yes and was cool with removing it until I realized that it's in a groove between the fingerboard and the headstock overlay. Now, I've got to look up info on removing one from a groove if it's necessary (which I believe it is). Any advice there?

I'll take correction on this, especially from anyone who's actually done it.

I'd definitely remove the nut. I don't see how an even sanding job would be possible with it in place. I believe the standard is to 'lightly' glue a nut in place, so a gentle rap on the side should do it. Rap on the low side (high side being what gets grooved into for the strings). How hard? I'd go as hard as I felt comfortable with, & take it to a good luthier if this amount didn't work.

Perhaps add a temporary filler in its' spot? I don't see a need to worry about fingerboard on the tuner side of the nut.

How many sandings can you get? Measure the groove depth (let's say 1mm). Measure the ebony thickness (let's say 5 mm). In that case I'd guess at 3 to 4 sandings (I'm REALLY winging it here) if your neck was bolt-on or you didn't mind average action.

Myself, I wouldn't worry about how many sandings you can get out of a fingerboard (especially if I considered epoxy). Fretboards are a consumable, especially with roundwounds. It's a "cost of doing business", as much a part of bass as heavy gear is. If sanding session #3 goes through the ebony, colour the spot with a black sharpie then epoxy the fingerboard.

Sand it flat, epoxy, then sand in radius? Wouldn't it be easier to keep the radius, especially with a 'wipe-on' method?

Caught a neat tip. Want a 12" radius sanding block? Find something metal & round that has a 24" diameter & glue sandpaper to it.

Sorry David, sand flat as in using a radiused block along the length. Um!! should read "sand level" ?? maybe. So the low spots are removed. Then epoxy of poly.

Gumby

No sweat.

Hey, any word on sonic differences between ebony & epoxy?

?? Not to my knowledge, Jens might be more appropriate to answer that.

My feeling is possibly not enough to be able to tell by ear. I have had a few thoughts, I am sure someone could expand on them;

- A more dense wood IMO should make a better material for a fretboard??

- An epoxy covering would not increase the density of the wood, but perhaps enhance the properties of it (i.e. hardness.

- does it then follow that you could use a less dense wood with an epoxy coating in place of a ebony rosewood etc???

I cannot give a critique on wear ability yet but my latest fretless has a Maple fretboard and I think it sounds a bit better than my Ebony one??? But it could be due to pickups etc.

Thoughts anyone!!!

Gumby

I'd think there'd be 2 parts to the sound:
* resonant qualities of the wood, with denser being brighter
* sonic qualities of the 'grinding', with softer giving more mwah.

I'd think epoxying would tend to affect both.

It'd be hard to isolate the qualities; so many other factors at play.