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A few years ago I ordered 3 slotted ebony fingerboards from LMI. 1 of the boards had a slight twist and bow in it, so I decided to use it last. In the meantime, I tried weighting, stickering, flipping every couple of days. It's been a couple of years and the board still has a slight bow in it and I'm ready to use it. It flattens easily when I press on it. Should I or shouldn't I?
Wendy

I wouldn't necessarily be worried about a slight even bow, but twist concerns me. I probably wouldn't use it myself.
You could try some heat to remove it.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Thanks Jim, I just went out and had another look at it. There is still a twist so guess I won't use it. If I had known better at the time I would have sent it back to LMI, but I guess I'll just chalk it up to part of the learning process. Maybe I'll try some heat too, but I think that it would have flattened by now with being weighted, etc for all this time.

Wendy: I would be reluctant to use a twisted board also...............BUT,if the board is now at full width,when you taper it you will see less height in the twist and maybe even less amount of pressure to keep it flat. I can't imagine that an easily depressed twist would have much effect on a neck.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

I'll probably go ahead and taper it and thin it and then see how much twist there is and how much force it takes to flatten it. Then I'll decide. I don't know if you would really want it Chris...since it's slotted for a 640 scale classical. By the way, although this is off topic, can you explain why it is better for Maple necks to be flat sawn when all other woods are supposed to be quartered?
Wendy

I'd use it. I usually put CF in the necks and I would for sure on this one.

That said I am also thinking the FB would be fine even without CF. Especially if you take it down to just less than 1/4" down the center line and radius it. Maybe more of a concern on a classical board.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust