Parabellum1262
Oud Lover
Posts: 13
Registered: 1-17-2015
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Lute fingerboard finish - frets are scraping the varnish off!
I'm having a bit of trouble fretting my budget home-made lute. The nylon frets don't lay flat on the fingerboard, yet I was hesitant about making them
tighter because they scrap at the varnish on the corners (see attachment). It's finished with oil-based polyurethane.
I read on the forums that linseed oil is a typical finish for the fingerboard. Personally, I feel that a part that receives so much finger grease
surely can't be adequately protected with mere oil, but I may be completely wrong. Is there a certain product or products considered ideal for
finishing the fingerboard?
As aforementioned, this is a budget instrument - I used materials that were cheap and easy to obtain. Thus I would rather have minor issues like this
than have to buy expensive gut frets and strings.
[file]34122[/file]
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jdowning
Oud Junkie
Posts: 3485
Registered: 8-2-2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
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Lute finger boards should not be varnished (for the reason that you have noted) although a polymerising oil such as Walnut or Tung oil that will be
fully absorbed into the wood (and not remain as a surface coating) is sometimes used. The oil is applied not for protection but to darken the wood so
that any staining is not so apparent. Don't use linseed oil as it takes forever to dry (if at all).
I use close grained hard woods such as Ebony or Boxwood and do not use any finish.
A soft finger board material will, of course wear quickly at the edges.
The edges of the fingerboard should be rounded. I also put a slight camber across the finger board surface so that the frets will lie tightly.
A softer grade of finger board wood may be used if the edges are inlaid with a hard banding such as Ebony to resist wear. The banding can of course be
added as a retrofit as well as the contouring of the fingerboard surface.
Gut is best for fretting but if you use nylon select a softer grade (i.e. flexible fishing line not stiff nylon instrument strings) and tie double not
single frets to reduce fret tension. Nylon will wear out your strings quicker than gut does.
Good luck
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Parabellum1262
Oud Lover
Posts: 13
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Thanks John - what you've said makes an awful lot of sense. With how much pressure the frets exert on the fingerboard edges, I don't see that any sort
of surface coating would stand up to repeated re-fretting over a long time.
This wear on the edges, I trust that's also due to repeated re-fretting?
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jdowning
Oud Junkie
Posts: 3485
Registered: 8-2-2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
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Relatively soft edges to a fingerboard will also result in future difficulty in adjusting the frets as they will tend to 'dig in' under tension and
form grooves. Also as the wood compresses under a fret, the fret tension is compromised.
The usual way to instal frets on a lute is to first tie each fret two or three positions higher on the finger board and then slide the fret towards
the bridge into position. The taper of the neck and fingerboard then provides additional tension of the fret - needed to hold it firmly in place.
Another disadvantage of nylon frets is that they are more difficult to tie firmly than gut - nylon being slippery stuff requires a special
'fisherman's' double knot in order to hold tight. Gut holds with just a simple overhand knot.
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