Beginner needs some help on ukulele maintenance and strings.

Ah, the great lemon oil debate :) I'm actually pretty sure that lemon oil isn't used on maple boards because they are usually finished and the oil simply isn't needed and wouldn't penetrate. So where it says 'not suitable for maple fretboards' it doesn't mean DO NOT USE THIS OR SOMETHING TERRIBLE WILL HAPPEN it just means that there isn't much point and no benefit will be gained. You're just likely to end up with a sticky residue of unabsorbed oil coating the board's surface.
 
Interesting.
Thanks for sharing that info Bighatbulls .. I have have had Maple Fretboards before, particularly on guitars, Telecaster or Jazzmaster style guitars, I never did oil them. I never bothered to research the info though either so it's interesting to learn.

Jolly boy, Maple Fretboards aren't always coated, I've only had one which was and the others have been uncoated.
Personally I wouldn't want a furry feeling fretboard, it's really not necessary and not beneficial in any way, but you're right if a fretboard (any type) is coated it doesn't benefit from oiling at all, most aren't coated though they are usually raw, at least the ones I've had.
To be honest I sold my Jazzmaster because I wanted to cut back on guitars and the Jazzmaster had a gloss finished fretboard which annoyed me especially when doing a note bend or vibrato it just was really awkward, even though I liked everything else about it, I discovered I really don't like coated fretboards.
Saying that, I don't want a hairy fretboard either, and I think if it's specifically noted on the lemon oil bottle itself it's there for a valid reason. Otherwise I have nothing against using fretboard lemon oil and will always continue to use it appropriately on either Rosewood or Mahogany Fretboards. I also give my Bridge a light wipe with it.
I've heard people saying strange things like if you use lemon oil your frets will come loose and fall out and other strange things, although I've never actually heard of it happening, and I think it's more of a fearful type of concept, I mean ok if you soak it and saturate it may not be impossible for such things to happen, but it's unlikely especially when used properly, and I think there's more chance of harm to the timber if it's neglected.
 
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Jolly boy, Maple Fretboards aren't always coated, I've only had one which was and the others have been uncoated.

I'm not talking about a gloss/lacquer finish in all cases - some will be finished with oil. Raw maple is pretty rare.
 
Originally I commented to help understand what I think had happened regarding the string rattle. As I mentioned oiling the fretboard, and it's a beginners forum, As an afterthought I considered it would be a responsible decision to additionally mention the written notice on the lemon oil bottle, as most beginners will be unfamiliar with it, and not everyone reads instructions.
The post was not about maple fretboards, and still isn't. I can only try to help. If someone chooses to oil their maple fretboard despite written caution on the bottle I'm not going to try to stop them, and I have no intention to get into any kind of debate, friendly, controversial, or otherwise, regarding maple fretboards, the point was simply that it's written on the bottle by the people who make the product, it wasn't intended as anything more than that.

Happy Ukeing :)
 
And all I did was to comment about what I have read about people who have had oiled their maple fret boards with lemon oil have said about the end result. I thought Dean was looking out for me, but didn't know about hairy boards so I supplied him with my penny's worth of knowledge that I knew about the subject. I didn't realize we were treading into hot water.

If it makes any difference, I really like my carbon black strings, and I for see myself trying some Worth Browns in roughly 5-6 months. I am on a quest to really bring out the warm voice of my Kala SMHC.
 
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