fingerboard crack - guitar

**otterly2k** · Jul-23-2012, 11:06am

While this question isn't about a mandolin, it seems that the answers might be relevant to mandolin...

I have a guitar that is developing cracks in the fingerboard - right now minor, and it doesn't seem to affect anything tonally or structurally. The cracks are in the upper frets (there are 2 at the moment).

Is there any way to fix this aside from replacing the fingerboard? It is worth doing or no?

KE

**Pribar** · Jul-23-2012, 11:30am

The first question is what is causing the cracks? if you can post some pics from different angles so we can get a idea of what is going on and how serious the problem is.

**MikeEdgerton** · Jul-23-2012, 3:07pm

The Martin repair manual has a routine that entails dropping in some CA and sanding to let the dust fill the cracks. I don't have it here with me, and I've never tried it but everything else in that manual has worked for me thus far. If you don't have the booklet it's a worthwhile purchase.

**otterly2k** · Jul-23-2012, 3:19pm

Thanks for the advice, mike. I could do that. I even have a little stash of ebony dust I could use if it matches. I'd rather not pull the frets tho, unless necessary.

Will try to get some pix, pribar. They look like dryness crack, with the grain.

**Pribar** · Jul-23-2012, 3:25pm

If they are dryness cracks and not stress related then Mikes suggestion is probably the best one out there, commercial fillers don't match up usually and have a tendency to crumble when used on fretboards.

**grandcanyonminstrel** · Jul-23-2012, 4:01pm

What kind and vintage of guitar and we talking about? A crack in a 60 year old Martin fingerboard is a completely different animal than a crack in a six week old $200 guitar made from wet ebony in a Chinese factory.....

j.

**otterly2k** · Jul-23-2012, 7:39pm

It's a 10 year old Larrivee parlour guitar. I'm the original owner.

**sunburst** · Jul-23-2012, 8:29pm

Ebony fingerboards, especially flatsawn ebony fingerboards, and not very stable even in their best, most seasoned condition. Most ebony fingerboards available these days are flatsawn, so yours probably is. It's not unusual for splits to show up in them, and it's normally not a structural problem, hence the mostly cosmetic superglue-and-sandpaper "fix".
You probably figured this out for yourself, but if there are pearl inlays in the board and you do the superglue-and-sand, do not sand the pearl or you'll have pearl dust mixed into the filler in the cracks. Also, as you've figured out, the frets need to be pulled to do it, so you might as well wait until it needs a fret job and do it then.

**otterly2k** · Jul-23-2012, 9:09pm

Thanks, John - As I suspected, I'm not going to rush to do anything on this... it is very far from needing a refret as it has been played pretty lightly in my guitar rotation, and I think that going through a refret just to hide a cosmetic flaw is overkill at this point.