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In the past there have been discussions about alternative woods for fretboards. Persimmon was suggested as a possible candidate. There is currently a source for persimmon wood and the provider states, "If you are looking for some special size of Persimmon for a project, let me know and I will be happy to cut it for you as we cut some more logs." You can reach the source via the following link:

http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001RxH-oF2fziv9evLRp11Q_vwYYe_22Y7AZ-4h5RhF5yZ175URDq4QMt1Nh_cvmdg7ZGKiYKQ3xyq4LT129W8wpubAZ3slg_0LBD-WTPL7ImKTpfX2Sc9sv8IV6ksf1nHeI8uyiz_6KjQ=

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Being a member of the ebony family, it is a lot more interesting when it has some black in it. It's not too common, but worth searching for.

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John

A little dye will take care of that.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Tom Thiel has worked out a method of dying persimmon black all the way through for fingerboards. He's selling it as 'American Ebony' (which it certainly is). I don't know what he's asking for it, or what the availability will be.

I/ve got lots of persimmon .I used to dye streaky ebony vln fb with black shoe dye, works.

Tom showed me this at woodstock: it's really very nice and looks a lot like typical african ebony. I'm looking forward to seeing some instruments made with it.

I used persimmon for the fingerboard and bridge on my #1. I left it natural and it quickly smudged to a dirty off white so I stained it black and it looks much better. The bridge was super light and I feel really helps the sound. When I use it again I would like it permanently dyed black.

Is that the one you brought to the meet at Woodcraft awhile back? Nice sounding guitar.

I would like to hear the process of dying persimmon black all the way through.

Yes and thank you.

Me too.

FYI, I am not offering the persimmon wood discussed in this thread. The actual provider is NC Wood at

http://www.ncwood.biz/

Best wishes,
Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

So would I. I guess it must be some sort of vacuum/pressure treatment. What else can it possibly be?

Tom and another fellow have spent several years working out the process, so he's understandably cagey about saying much about it. I imagine it's a vacuum process, but that covers a lot of ground.

When I use persimmon for fingerboards I dye it with a 'tea' made from black walnut hulls. It's just a surface treatment, of course, but it helps keep it from looking dirty. I find that binding the board with walnut is a big help; after it's stained the binding doesn't really show, and it saves having to worry about slopping stain on the neck.

I ate some persimmon as a kid... kinda looks weird because it looks like tomato but is quite sweet...

The fruit is very common in Taiwan...

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com