What is causing this?

10thumbs

Started the finish on a maple neck today , it was bought already sanded and sealed , gave it one coat of Tru Oil , hung it up to dry and then discovered what looks like tiny splits/cracks or runs coming from under several of the frets .

Been trying to sand some out on the 14th , thinking the oil may have ran off the frets causing tiny little runs ,whilst it was hanging .

But they don`t seem to be shifting.

I`ve never seen this before .

Can anybody tell me what is happening here before I end up with an scalloped board ?

http://i.imgur.com/zufmrUn.jpg  http://i.imgur.com/TwccIsu.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/l9wxRxO.jpg  http://i.imgur.com/pS5ZdAi.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/EsRkdKM.jpg

octatonic

Looks like oil runs- does 0000 wire wool not shift it?

10thumbs

Been using 1200 grade wet & dry , but I`ve taken the oil off and the problem remains.

I thought I`d seek some advice before sanding any more, if it is something nobody here has seen before I`ll go back to sanding .

Just thought it might be something else.

Andyjr1515

Hi @10thumbs

Not seen that before...it's so even I wonder if it's marks from a caul used to press in the frets?  

It might be worth trying a single edged razor or stanley knife blade as a scraper (up and down with the grain, fret to fret as in the photo) to see if that gets it off.  

If they are splits, of course, then the oil will make them show, although I can't think how or why anything would split that uniformly... 

Sarge

Weird! Never seen this before, I wonder if they line up with the tines on the fret?

octatonic

A fret press caul usually doesn't create lines like that- at least mine doesn't, which is the Stew Mac Jaws and Arbour press.

It will be a horizontal line roughly parallel with the fret.

You can steam them out, usually.

I'd attack it with 0000 wire wool and see if it sorts itself out.

hobbio

They do look like tool marks of some kind. Like Andyjr says, maybe from over enthusiastic pressing or a badly fitting caul?

10thumbs

Thanks guys.

They are not on every fret , and go in both directions , up and down.

My thinking is , if, with the wealth of knowledge and experience on this board , nobody knows what this is ,  I`ll go back to scraping etc.

But they are very evenly spaced and uniform , unlike runs .

I just don`t want to screw up the neck on my first build , if its something else.

Maybe I`m just a newby being too cautious ?

But necks ain`t cheap .  :-?

FelineGuitars

That looks like what happens with water damage - often you can get it if you water sand a lacquer finish.

I assume that you bought the neck already fretted?

The spacing could co-incide with the spacing of the barbs on the fretwire's tang

FelineGuitars

Other than that I might wonder if the fretwire wasn't degreased before installing and when the oil has been applied it's penetrated and lifted the grease that was on the fretwire to prevent corrosion when shipped from the factory where they make fretwire.

10thumbs

10thumbs

Yes , the neck is a mighty mite , already fretted, sanded and sealed .

I`ll have another look at it tomorrow , but if I can`t figure something out , I might just have to live with it .

Not the end of the world I suppose , just really annoying .

ICBM

Those are splits or at best stress lines caused by the barbs on the fret tangs, as FelineGuitars said. They're absolutely evenly spaced, the same on both frets, and on the 13th fret you can see they alternate on each side of the fret. They've then absorbed the oil so they've gone darker.

There's no point in scraping or sanding because they will go deep into the wood.

10thumbs

Thanks mate , that was my first thought , and why I stopped sanding and sought some advice , before I made the situation worse.

Suppose I can live with it, its just p*ssing me off as its a new build ,but at the end of the day it can`t be fixed anyway.

And the moral of the story is , don`t buy Mighty Mite necks.

hobbio

Have you tried contacting them about it?

10thumbs

I bought it off a guy who has had it for a couple of years ,and never got around to using it , there were no signs before I finished it , but I don`t think I`d get much joy from the manufacturers .

hobbio

Fair enough.

It'll be much less noticeable with strings and finger gunk on it anyway.

streethawk

I've had this happen with tru oil too.

Put me right off.

WezV

streethawk said:

I've had this happen with tru oil too.

Put me right off.

its not tru-oil that causes the fault... but tru-oil will show up flaws like this clearer than other finishes. 

fwiw I have done loads of maple fretboards with tru-oil and never had this happen before