Finally got around to making some persimmon blocks into fret boards.
This is part of a quest to build a couple of mandolins 100% out of North American woods.
The fret board project started with procuring some 2"X2"X12" American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana; aka white ebony) blocks. They were purchased from NCWoods located in North Carolina. Of course, persimmon is in the same genus as the African ebonys traditionally used and its hardness and density are very similar. However, persimmon is a tan color (sometimes with black streaks - esp. core wood) rather than uniformly black.
The persimmon blocks were cut into 0.35" slabs which were sanded smooth and then set up to cut the slots for the frets using a scale of 13 5/16" with 29 frets. (frets #23 to #29 are not exact because they are going to be scooped and filled with fake frets).
A 10" radius was sanded into the boards which resulted in having to make the slots deeper - so now they are a bit too deep in the center but that should be OK (I hope).
The templates were cut out with a band saw and scroll saw for the tight stuff. The board on the left when bound will fit up to a 1 3/16" nut the one on the left a 1 1/8" nut.
The tops of the boards (not the back or sides) were stained with Fiebing's oil dye to make it look like traditional African ebony. It looks amazingly close!
Over all I am pleased with the results. Next project is to make some persimmon bridges.
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