Future build

[Lex]

Hi all,
I have been thinking about building a macassar ebony medium SS, only because I like the look of this timber,and whilst I often use it for fretboards and bridges I have never played nor even held one in my hands where it has been used for back and sides .
Can anyone advise what this wood is like to work with ,how it bends and what I might expect ?
Also looking for advice on what would look good and be practical for the bindings.


Cheers and thanks
Tod Gilding

[Steve.Toscano]

Hi Tod.
I myself haven't used it for B&S, but i have had a student use it.

It's a prick of a thing to bend. Get it to <2mm. If doing a cutaway get the cutaway area down to ~1.6mm.
You'll want to soak it in cold water for a good 24hrs+ prior to bending. Once bent let it sit for a few days preferrably in a mold to see if it springs back and to dry it out.
Bend it by hand with lots of heat, go slow and listen closely for cracks.

When soaking for such a long period make sure not to glue it up for a good few days post.

Maybe bloodwood bindings, and bloodwood fretboard/bridge. You'll have a black, white (spruce sb), and red theme going, which to me is damn sexy.

Ohh and be careful of the dust, ensure if its just me, but i get a pretty bad reaction to any of the ebonies dust.

[56nortondomy]

Hi Tod, I've used it on 2 builds and had no problems with it. 1 was a cutaway and the side bent ok I thinned the cutaway side to about 1.6mm like Steve suggested, prior to bending I soaked the side for about 30min in hot water with fabric softener in it, I bent at about 300f. For the other side around 2mm is good that's what I thin all my sides to, I just gave it a spray no soak and bent, I found it good to work. You have some of the scraps for the rosette. Wayne

[Lex]

Thanks Steve and Wayne,
That was exactly what I wanted to know, much appreciated.
Steve the bloodwood would look pretty sexy, but I believe its hard to bend if it has some runout or is not perfectly quartered ,but for sexy, bloodwood I think is a great suggestion.
Bend many to get what you want
Thanks also wayne great info ,and those mac ebony pieces still havnt gone into the rosette as yet, I keep getting other builds ,so my own guitar goes on the backburner, but I will get it done soon and post some pictures.

Regards and thanks
Tod Gilding

[Fisherman]

Make sure your humidity control is good and the wood is well seasoned...

I bought a guitar from a luthier in the Philippines a while back... a couple of months after it arrived this happened:

It is now sitting in the corner of the workshop for fixing "someday"... I'll probably end up running it through the bandsaw for rosettes, headstocks and decorations

[Lex]

I can imagine that crack would have been a disapointment but I would think repairable, before turning it into parts, surely.