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Does Macassar Ebony need to be filled?

Nope, at least not as a rule.

I like that guitar Bob, and especially the bridge for some reason. How is Macassar working with? Bending and resawing, gluing? I nearly bought a piece last time but was too busy with figured Sapele.

Wow great looking guitar Bob. Tell us a little bit about it.

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Thanks guys. Macassar works well and is a dream to finish, though I had some trouble bending it. Not sure if it was me or the fact that it was ebony, but I have a broken side from that very guitar hanging in my shop just to remind me why I bought a blanket. A blanket is cheaper than a set of macassar sides.

The guitar is your generic OM-sized unit, my own twist on the shape. Top is European spruce, rosette is amboyna, bindings are koa, fb and bridge are snakewood.

Now I'm a little embarrassed for posting it and for hijacking the thread.

Hey Bob,
When are you quitting that college professor job of yours so you can make a great living at luthery?

Umm....second thought.......never mind.



Nice guitar.   What's your current project?

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

It needs to be filled if you don't want to see pores.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Howard, the pores are really, really small so they fill with finish easily; my response reflects my experience.   

My first day of spraying is a coat of sealer followed by 3 wet coats of lac, knocked down the next day with 320. They are basically filled at the point. So yes, you could certainly use a filler, but it really isn't necessary for this wood, in the same way it isn't necessary for maple.

Your mileage may vary.

And thanks Don, but I like my day job too!

Hi Bob,
This is a really nice looking guitar!!
Clean lines, yet just enough fancy to make us all happy.
How wide is the nut/neck?
How does it sound.............?
Was this a special order for someone or you just made it for resale?
Thanks, WalterK

Thanks Walter. This was a commission. It's 1.75" at the nut, which I made from the incisor of a hippo!

Sound-wise, I was not all that pleased when I first strung it up... it was okay, but had too much fundamental for me. But the sound changed rapidly and changed a lot. Much more than any other guitar I've ever made. After a few days I was relieved as it came around nicely.

Bob, my comment is based on my experience. That's one guitar body
plus some headstock veneers, which isn't a lot, but enough to see that it
has open pores. Not huge pores, but not at all like maple which has
nearly invisible, micro-pores that don't benefit from any filling. You
could fill the Macassar pores with lacquer, but in my experience, filling
with lacquer requires sanding or scraping down a couple of times, and is
in the end more work than using a filler (I favor epoxy).

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Fair enough, and I can think of a couple reasons for our differing experiences. If the stock is not well quartered, then the pores could be exposed in radial sections, making them more of an issue. And there are many species of ebony; I have two distinct flavors of Macassar ebony which I'm willing to bet are different species.

As a rule then, if you think a piece needs filling then it does.

   there are 2 woods I don't fill. Maple and Cherry. All others will need the fill process as the pores will cause sinks
   A short cut often is the longest route

Thanks much to all!