Walnut Fingerboard?

Elias Graves said:
Apparently Gibson thinks it's ok.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RS15ANNH


I've read reports on people using it cigar box guitars and stuff but most agree it isn't hard enough to be a fretboard.
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Not hard enough? It's one of the most popular woods for rifle & shotgun stocks out there. I'd say it's hard enough :embarrassed:

from wiki: It remains one of the most popular choices for rifle and shotgun stocks, and is generally considered to be the premium – as well as the most traditional – wood for gun stocks, due to its resilience to compression along the grain.
 
Seems fine to me. As Jbird pointed out, it holds up just fine on guns. I’m surprised that Gibson is even offering a Walnut guitar at this price. Walnut tends to be reserved for very expensive guitars because gun collectors have driven up the price of quality walnut. I’m surprised they didn’t use the wood for a limited edition $15,000 signature Hummingbird.
 
Jbird said:
Not hard enough? It's one of the most popular woods for rifle & shotgun stocks out there. I'd say it's hard enough :embarrassed:

from wiki: It remains one of the most popular choices for rifle and shotgun stocks, and is generally considered to be the premium – as well as the most traditional – wood for gun stocks, due to its resilience to compression along the grain.
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A couple of things. It's been tried a lot and it doesn't hold up well.
It has insufficient abrasion resistance to be a fingerboard. It pits out quickly.

A gun stock is more like a guitar body or neck. Fingerboard is under a whole different level of friction.

By most standards, maple would never be considered hard enough for a fingerboard but people are willing to live with the discoloration and wear in exchange for other benefits.
Walnut, while stiffer and less flexible than maple, it is not as hard as sugar maple.
 
Jbird said:
wood for gun stocks, due to its resilience to compression along the grain.
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compressive strength really isn't a factor when you talk about fretboards unless you're thinking of strapping a gun barrel to the end of your headstock :wink: Hardness is typically measured on the Janka scale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test and you can see where a typical north american walnut sample falls on the table in the link.
 
I often use walnut fingerboards in my builds. It's in plentiful supply, unlike rosewood or ebony, and it's got the right "dark" look, unlike hard maple. It's a pleasure to work with besides. Of course, most of the things I build are low-mileage--cigar box guitars, fretless banjos, etc.--so I'm not going to run into abrasion problems for a long time. Given my woodworking skills, something else is going to go wrong long before the fretboard gives me problems.

That said, I'd have reservations spending name-brand money on something I expect to have resale value with a walnut board.
 
Lerxst said:
compressive strength really isn't a factor when you talk about fretboards unless you're thinking of strapping a gun barrel to the end of your headstock :wink: Hardness is typically measured on the Janka scale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test and you can see where a typical north american walnut sample falls on the table in the link.
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Mesquite is pretty high on the hardness list at 2345. I'd think it's a pretty cheap wood, assuming the BBQ folks haven't driven up the price. Wonder why no one uses it for fret boards. Maybe it's too hard to find a straight piece long enough? :shrug:

Edit: Turns out, Mesquite boards have been done, just not very common:
DSCN4329.jpg

98b05539-576f-40dc-90ee-57be4f229b2b.JPG
 
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I don't walnuts would make a viable fretboard material. Delicious maybe, especially smashed up ans sprinkled over some sauteed bananas with some chocolate or fudge sauce, but a Brazil nut might work better.
 
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