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One For The Woodworkers

Where I live in Illinois, the best hardwood I can find in 1x2 size is poplar. I'd rather have oak because I want to mount telecaster pickups and I need the strength I can buy a 6 foot section of oak that's 1 inch thick but 7 inches wide.

In a conversation with my Ace Hardware guy, I was told that ripping the wider board down to neck size would make it vulnerable to warping and/or twisting. That scared me out of the idea. What do you guys think about this? Can I rip an oak board down to 1 1/2 wide and have it stay stable or not.

I don't know if the wood was air dried or kiln dried if that makes a difference.

Thanks for any help,

Fred

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tom Caneschi aka TC on December 4, 2011 at 12:49pm

How about Home depot or Lowes ?

Permalink Reply by Jess on December 4, 2011 at 1:00pm

Hi Fred: You may want to check with your local cabinet shop. I've found that I can buy custom cut walnut, cherry, mahogany and maple neck stock for less than I pay for oak at the local big box stores. I buy in small quantities, but it's worth it to get the variety, and it's exactly what I want, not what I musrt settle for.

Permalink Reply by Fred Railsback on December 4, 2011 at 2:46pm

Tom, I went to both places (80 miles away) as well as a couple the local yards. Found the poplar at Lowes.

The cabinet shop idea sounds good. I think we have one of those near here. I'll check it out Monday.

Thanks,

Fred

Permalink Reply by William McCauley on December 4, 2011 at 4:50pm

I buy 6" wide oak stock from Lowe's and Home Depot and rip it all the time with no problems. Every HD or Lowe's I have been has oak stock. I've heard some HDs have maple, but I have yet to see it in my area.

Permalink Reply by Fred Railsback on December 4, 2011 at 8:28pm

"Every HD or Lowe's I have been has oak stock."

You obviously haven't been in the Lowes in either Quincy or Galesburg, Illinois. Only the Lowes in Quiny has even poplar. If I had found oak at any of the locations I wouldn't have asked the question in the first place.

But thanks for letting me know you don't have any trouble with ripping oak. If the cabinet shop idea doesn't work out, I'll be going the oak route.

Permalink Reply by William McCauley on December 5, 2011 at 12:53am

Being in Eastern Pa. you are correct.The lack of oak at your locations would be a good question for the store management, or even at the corporate level.I have used poplar on two builds. I use oak because I like the look of the wood and the way it takes a laquer finish. If you are concerned about strength, take two 3/8" thick pieces and laminate them with the grain running in opposite directions.

Fred Railsback said:

"Every HD or Lowe's I have been has oak stock."

You obviously haven't been in the Lowes in either Quincy or Galesburg, Illinois. Only the Lowes in Quiny has even poplar. If I had found oak at any of the locations I wouldn't have asked the question in the first place.

But thanks for letting me know you don't have any trouble with ripping oak. If the cabinet shop idea doesn't work out, I'll be going the oak route.

Permalink Reply by Tim Gale on December 5, 2011 at 12:24pm

When I lived in Illinois (Princeton area) I could get all kinds of wood from Menards. Oak, mahogany, walnut, maple, etc. I have never found a wood selection like that anywhere. Where I live now in Alaska, Lowes had all the wood I needed in oak and maple for necks and finger boards. Lowes just closed and Home Depot doesn't carry the 1/4" stock.

I think the suggestion above about laminating two pieces together would also help with any tendancy to warp. I've done laminate necks on some of my guitars and you end up with an incredibly strong neck.

Permalink Reply by MadGomer on December 5, 2011 at 12:33pm

Fred, I'm in the Peoria area, and our box stores all carry oak, maple, sometimes cherry and walnut. Pekin has a great hardwood shop, and I have a big pile of quartersawn oak in my barn if you're in my vicinity. Ripping is not a problem, provided you get a board with decent grain orientation and seasoning.

Permalink Reply by Fred Railsback on December 5, 2011 at 1:32pm

William, I really like the laminating idea with reversing the grain. That should make a very strong neck.

Tom, We have a fairly new Menards down the road in Quincy. I honestly never thought to see about them, but I will.

The cabinet shop near me closed. Too bad.

Here's an example of what causes me concern. I just got a beautiful black Rocky Patel box that's large enough to have a good sound acoustically. The internal space is only 1 1/8 tall so there isn't enough room for a 3/4 reinforcing strip under where the mag pickup is. So I have to do the design and assembly with thinner wood. That's why I want to use oak and not poplar on this build.

Laminating both the neck and the reinforcing strip would give all the strength it could possibly need.

You all and your ideas have helped me alot. Thank you all!

Fred

Permalink Reply by William McCauley on December 5, 2011 at 4:43pm

Since you have a nice box the last wood I would use is poplar, unless you are going to paint the neck. Poplar does not take stain well. Keep looking for a nice piece of wood, you'll be glad in the end. Also, buy more than you think you will need.

Fred Railsback said:

William, I really like the laminating idea with reversing the grain. That should make a very strong neck.

Tom, We have a fairly new Menards down the road in Quincy. I honestly never thought to see about them, but I will.

The cabinet shop near me closed. Too bad.

Here's an example of what causes me concern. I just got a beautiful black Rocky Patel box that's large enough to have a good sound acoustically. The internal space is only 1 1/8 tall so there isn't enough room for a 3/4 reinforcing strip under where the mag pickup is. So I have to do the design and assembly with thinner wood. That's why I want to use oak and not poplar on this build.

Laminating both the neck and the reinforcing strip would give all the strength it could possibly need.

You all and your ideas have helped me alot. Thank you all!

Fred

Permalink Reply by Fred Railsback on December 5, 2011 at 9:59pm

I agree. It would look good with a dark walnut neck, or maybe cherry. It's worth looking around for sure.

I lean towards the four stringers so neck strength is probably more critical than on a 3 stringer. That's why I'm sounding a little paranoid about this. The four string that I play alot has an oak neck which has not moved any perceptible amount since I built it. But the poplar necked one seemed to bend a good deal where the cut to clear the box top was made. Poplar may not take stain very well and it's also kind of weak. I don't see much point in using it.

Thanks for your helping me think through this. There's got to be more available than what I've found so far.

Fred

Permalink Reply by Tim Gale on December 6, 2011 at 2:49am

There are ways of building a cbg without doing a neck through design. Add some structural support and do a bolt on neck. I have also built some using a 1/2 inch square steel tube glued into the end of the neck then running that through the box. Really cuts down on the amount of air space taken up by the neck. Something like this might give you the room and strength you need.