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I'm in Canada, building a guitar that will end up with a friend in the US. I'm looking for a substitute for my usual EIR fingerboard so the guitar doesn't get confiscated at the boarder.

I'll be using Sundari for the binding and bridge. (Haven't worked with it yet, but it sure looks a lot like EIR.) Should I go with the same material for the fingerboard, or am I better off with something like Pau ferro? Have any of you folks used Sundari fingerboards? How do they hold frets? Do they darken nicely with oil? Do they wear about the same as EIR?

Thoughts? Opinions?

I would check first with us customs an border enforcement, an see what woods are not allowed. See if sundari eir or pau ferro are listed Also It depends on which crossing you use . I would go to the busiest one , so that they will send you through quicker, at least thats the way it was in the late 80/s an 90/s at douglas border crossing in BC. Pau ferro is good, or hard cdn maple. You did not mention the type of guitar, Good luck

Indian rosewood in a finished guitar crosses the Canada-US border without any restriction. The ONLY timber species affected in a FINISHED instrument is Brazilian rosewood.


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If the Sundari you are considering is the Rocklite product Robbie O'Brien has done a Youtube video on it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR0VSQQwIAs
Being a man made product it shouldn't have a problem crossing borders.

I thought rosewood is exempt for musical instrument use except for brazilian.

Did something change?

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Thanks for your responses.

The instrument I'm making is a steel string acoustic - so that might help to clarify with regards to my questions about the suitability of these other materials.

I was under the impression that even EIR on a finished instrument was an issue with border crossing. But it sounds like restrictions are not as tight as I had thought, and it sounds like I should have done more homework before asking. So I'll get on that.

Still, other thoughts / experiences with Sundari and Pau ferro as fingerboards will be helpful as I wonder about good alternatives to EIR.

Dont know abt sundari , but pau ferro is available from LMI, and I have a nice one from them. That has a lot of figure , Feels l slightly heavier than BRW. It is also called morado or bolivian rosewood.

And that was correct in January of 2017 when CITES clamped down on ALL trade of ALL rosewoods. But, that changed again after the next CITES meeting when they agreed the restrictions were harming users of very small quantities (instrument builders). The trade restrictions on FINISHED instruments with less than a critical weight of rosewood (Dalbergia other than Brazilian) were removed -- no permits or paperwork required. You still need permits to trade raw material across a border.

Indian rosewood should not be CITES listed in any capacity. It is not endangered. The harvest is controlled by the Indian government.
The idea back in 2017 was to group all rosewoods (Dalbergia spp.) in order to curb the illegal harvesting of those that ARE threatened.
It was a nightmare for the stringed instrument trade, so the restriction was rescinded.
Brazilian remains on Appendix I, which does restrict finished goods.
Appendix II still applies to some rosewoods, but that is just for logs and lumber.


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John

I’ve used Pau Ferro frequently for fingerboards and bridges. It’s attractive, of appropriate density and hardness , carves and machines well. I like it as much as Indian rosewood for those applications.

I've used katalux for fret/fingerboards, it works well. I don't think it is on any list. I got some that was called royal ebony that was half cream, half black. I made fingerboards and pegs out of both. The black half was only very slightly denser. It is relatively inexpensive. I like the variations in it.

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