Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Timothy on February 26, 2012 at 2:20am

From what I have learned about being a luthier. You want wood that is solid. All those woods you just listed are perfect. It seems like most commercial guitars are made with mahogany for the neck with rosewood or black walnut for the fret board. Oak is extremely dense though and has a beautiful grain. I love black walnut though and you could probably get away with making the whole neck and fret board out of walnut. Here's another suggestion blood wood, it is super strong and has a dark red grain. Also not all wood is the same. You could end up with a shitty piece of oak or a really good piece of oak. You have to look at the grain and see how tight it is.  You have to use all your senses when picking out the best piece of lumber. As for price that sounds really good. I forgot how you calculate board feet but every store prices differently. Anyways, happy hunting.

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on February 26, 2012 at 4:36am

Maple and mahogany are most common on commercial guitars.

Maple - good working qualities, has closed pores so shouldn't require filling, many beautiful grain patterns occur, stay with the straight grain pattern for necks

Mahogany - varies on density and grain, good workability.

Rosewood - I wouldn't use it for a neck, might be perfectly okay though so check around..

Oak - strong, nice grain patterns, open pored so needs filling, can be difficult to work, ebonizes well because of the tannic acid content so is useful when ebony colored fretboards are desired.

Poplar - easy to work, closed pores frequently used for CBGs because of ready availability. Often has a greenish to black color in the grain pattern so care has to be taken in selection if you want a light colored clear coated neck.

Meranti - never worked with it, appears very similar to mahogany.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on February 26, 2012 at 7:00am

Honsik,

American oak has a nice straight grain, but does require filling. African mahogany is preferable to Asian mahogany, which are two different species, and in the Asian case, may not be mahogany at all, especially if it is called "Phillipine mahogany."
African mahogany is what most commercial luthiers use for necks, if they're not using maple ( which is also good), or using built up laminated necks. The tonal qualities are generally taken to be: mahogany = warmer, maple = brighter. Sapele has been used increasingly over the last 25 years by commercial luthiers as a mahogany substitute, with similar tonal qualities, but lots cheaper. Timothy is correct: preferred fretboard woods are rosewood, maple, ebony, walnut, and mahogany. Other woods such as blood wood or ipe, while very pretty, can be hard to work, and many people find themselves highly allergic to their sawdust. Koa has also been used successfully over the last 15 years by commercial luthiers for both necks and fretboards.

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on February 26, 2012 at 11:00am

Any hardwood that's on he quarter will be fine, get the prettiest or the nicest colour. They all work

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Permalink Reply by Charlotte Henry on March 1, 2012 at 12:00am

I like maple. It's strong and finishes out really smooth since the grain is so tight. Oak is OK but the grain is open.  Has interesting color/grain and is very strong. Rosewood would be super strong for a neck but I personally would prefer it as a fingerboard, peghead faceplate or attractive reinforcement strip for laminating a maple neck or splines for neck reinforcement.

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Permalink Reply by Careless John on March 1, 2012 at 12:10am

I have used two types since I started building a few months ago, European Oak, mainly from Germany, and Sepeele which I got from a friend who was renovating his house, the Sepeele came from the doors and frames, and although slightly softer than Oak is nice to work with. Both seemed to work well enough. I think its a peresonal thing, you will find a wood that you like and use that.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Onastik on March 1, 2012 at 6:49pm

Where is your supplier?  Does he ship?

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Permalink Reply by Honsik on March 1, 2012 at 11:06pm

Suppliet is in a village in my neighborhood. Mind you I live in the Neteherlands.Don't think he ships and if so, shipping and customs can make it expensive.

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