Black Delrin Fingerboard
BLUEGRASSPICKER
Has anybody tried using black Delrin as fingerboard material? I saw some
of this material recently and, when sanded to rough it up a little, it
looks alot like ebony. It also is very tough, smooth , and easily
worked.
Tom
Bob Clarke
No, I haven't. I've used Delrin a number of times on some of my
engineering jobs (in a previous life). It's hard, molds well, and
machines very well. I don't know about wear though.
I saw some totally composite Oviations the other day. And I mean totally
composite and or plastic selling for around $250? I wonder what they are
using, I picked one up to play, but it was totally out of tune and I
didn't want to grab a salesperson (being 3 days before Xmas).
One thing about using these types of materials, they won't have the
"colors" that natural based materials would have. In others words the
material density is the same though out so the resonances will be simpler
and more predictable.
An interesting thought, seeing how our favorite woods are only going to
get more rarer.
--
James Clarke Simpson-James Guitar Company
On-Line Catalog http://www.connix.com/~sjguitar
On-Line Bass Guitar Bookstore, Over 40 Titles.
miff...@aol.com
In article <32C271...@prodigy.net>, BLUEGRASSPICKER
<BLUEGRA...@prodigy.net> writes:
I've never seen it on a fingerboard, but my experience with it (I have two
Delrin bagpipe practice chanters) is that it scratches very easily. I'm
sure strings would eat it up in no time.It's also not all that hard-I've
used an exacto knife to modify one chanter, with very little effort.
Keith Ellott
7066...@compuserve.com
In article <59ucg9$l...@beast.connix.com>,
sjgu...@comet.connix.com (Bob Clarke) wrote:
>
> No, I haven't. I've used Delrin a number of times on some of my
> engineering jobs (in a previous life). It's hard, molds well, and
> machines very well. I don't know about wear though.
> One thing about using these types of materials, they won't have the
> "colors" that natural based materials would have. In others words the
> material density is the same though out so the resonances will be simpler
> and more predictable.
>
> An interesting thought, seeing how our favorite woods are only going to
> get more rarer.
Turner guitars use Formica for their fingerboards (as well a to top off the body
with wacky patterns/colors.) They are reputed to be excellent-sounding, but most
of the comments I've read focused on the unusual pickup (an updated Rickenbacker
horseshoe design) and how good it sounds as opposed to the tonal qualities of
the body and neck themselves.
They look extremely cool I can tell you that.
-j
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Bruce Johnson
Hello Tom;
Black Delrin is an interesting material. I've used it for things like thumb rests on
electric basses with good results.
I have my doubts about using it for fingerboards for a couple of reasons:
1.) Although it's slippery and tough (as in impact resistance), it's pretty soft
compared to typical fingerboard materials. Even if wear wasn't a problem, it would
be pretty dead sounding.
2.) Gluing Delrin to wood is very difficult. I don't know how you could get it to
stay on a wooden neck, particularly with the dramatically different thermal
expansion rates. You'd have to use a few dozen screws!
3.) It's expensive! A piece for a bass fingerboard would be at least $50.
Bruce Johnson
Johnson's Extremely Strange Musical Instrument Co.
Burbank, CA
David Shucavage
> Has anybody tried using black Delrin as fingerboard material? I saw some
> of this material recently and, when sanded to rough it up a little, it
> looks alot like ebony. It also is very tough, smooth , and easily
> worked.
I have used it for bridge caps for hammered dulcimers. It seems too soft
to use as a fingerboard. HD strings cut into it fairly quickly. It is
slippery but too ductile to use as a fingerboard. I also agree with the
earlier post that you would have a hard time glueing it.
--
David Shucavage - d...@rogo.com
Check out my Folk Stuff web site at:
http://www.rogo.com/folkstuff/
And my Crazy about Constraints! web site (Theory of Constraints) at:
http://www.rogo.com/cac/
Inivekdboy
Hey there BLUEGRASSPICKER,
I haven't heard of anyone using delrin, but there is quite a few builders
who use phenolic for finger boards. It seems to be used most often with
graphite/carbon fiber necks. I read a article recently in Bass Player by
Rick Turner, where he talked about replacing a synthetic board (phenolic)
on a bass with a wooden neck, because the wood shrank back a small amount
around the edges, causing the finger board to overhang the edges of the
neck. He removed the phenolic board, installed two graphite rods in the
neck, to correct a slight warppage problem and to give the neck some added
stiffness. He then installed a nice ebony board and installed and dressed
new fret wires. He said his customer was very happy with the end result.
I recently finished building a small bodied steel string for my brother. I
used a nice looking piece of Bocote for the finger board. It is a species
of wood that comes from Mexico, it looks and sounds beautiful, and it
feels great under your fingers.You should be able to find it at any large
supplier of exotic hardwoods. It is moderately expensive, as exotics go
($15-20.00 bd. ft.) but if you buy a piece 1"x6"x24" or so, you can resaw
several blanks out of it. That helps to make it cost effective, when you
consider that a real nice rosewood or ebony blank can run as high as
$20.00 or more. Well I don't want you to wear out your eyeballs reading
this so I guess I will close by saying," good luck & keep on picken.
Inive...@aol.com