Roasted ash neck/fingerboard

[Michiel Wildenberg]

I have some plans for a new build (a series of three to start with). The guitar will be completely made out of thermo-ash. Because I want to make a one piece neck/fingerboard like the maple necks from fender, with carbon fibre as trussrod strip, I was wondering if roasted white ash will be hard enough for a fretboard. If not, are there super tough finishes I can put on the fretboard to toughen it up.

[Peter Wilcox]

I used polyurethane on some bass mahogany fingerboards years ago. One I jammed with every week for a couple of years didn't show any wear. I never really played the others much.

[Freeman Keller]

I have no experience with ash for necks or finger boards. I also have never finished a fretboard until just recently - I was asked to refret a lovely old Fender bass which had a lacquered maple fretboard. It was one of the biggest hassles I have ever experienced and I have simply vowed to never do another one. I'm very happy to let someone else do it, and I sort of learned why they charge so much.

Mine was even easy from the standpoint that it was lacquer, which I can retouch. If it had been some sort of modern catalyzed poly finish I wouldn't have even tried.

I also have no experience with roasted anything but I do know that Warmoth cautions folks buying theirs that it is possible to split the headstock when installing tuners - the suggest reaming with the proper sized reamer.

[Peter Wilcox]

Two of my polyurethane fingerboards were fretless. The fretted one I rediused and sanded before I applied the poly, then after that I cut the fret slots and fretted it, so a refret (that it will never need anyway) would not be a problem.