Ebony and rosewood are notorious for drying out and cracking ( Claud will verify this )

Every Guitar manufacturer/builder has their own way to "oil" the boards during construction


If you read any of the guitar discussion group postings such as Acoustic Guitar Magazine

cracking of fingerboards is quite common and cleaning/oiling boards is a frequent topic

Yes, that true, but that's conditioning the wood. I was only talking about getting a nice polish without a finish. I know some fiddle makers that buff with rouge to a super gloss finish, but it looks like plastic and (dare I say it) Chinese Red Screamerish.
Steve

Agreed but then we must take that one step further and reccomend

"conditioning" rosewood or ebony buttons


think about Strat and Tele fingerboards..

maple vs rosewood and how differently they are treated

Ed Poullard told me a guy gave him some Mammoth Ivory to make buttons from. It turned really nice and they looked fabulous.

Stability of the wood seems to be the issue...whether it is prone to dry and crack etc. Mesquite might work well. Has a nice color and grain.

Most!!! wooden buttons tend to get sticky after extended use.

It's a pleasure to play on an accordion with ebony buttons with convex mother-of-pearl or abalone (the real thing) centers. No problems of stickiness, and a very warm feel. Gaillard used to make boxes with this kind of buttons -- now he is using plastic.
-Andy

Try Lignum Vitae

How about using faux ivory,like the Tagua nur for the buttons.

Very very hard, and looks like ivory.

Uncanny!!!!!.

If it's the look of ivory you want.

Any jeweller with a miniature lathe should be able to turn a few.

See link in # 1 link.

C.

try this link,# 1, sorry.

C.