Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ken Henry on January 24, 2013 at 10:48am

Personally I prefer the 1X2" maple from Home Depot but I understand a lot of people are having problems finding it there now. I haven't checked lately so I really don't know about the availability at the moment.Oak is always a good bet with White Oak being my personal favorite IF you an find it. Otherwise Red Oak. As far as recycled materials you might consider tearing down an old couch. They use a lot of gum which is a very dense wood and is very difficult to split ( as in splitting logs for firewood) but it doesn't have a particularly attractive grain. Mind you I am merely venturing an opinion here not based on actual experience for use as a neck. We have a specialty hardwood store here in Kansas City MO known as Metro Hardwoods and they sell exotic tools for custom craftworkers along with the usual stuff and a wide selection of very exotic and common hardwoods. Not sure if they have any additional stores around the country or not.

Permalink Reply by Jim Dickison on January 24, 2013 at 3:41pm

My Home Depot in Independence, MO never stocked maple. However, when I went to a Home Depot in KC (31st & Main, near my work) I found that they DID stock maple! They even had some nicely flame figured 1x2's. So, it pays to check out different stores of the big box chains!

Permalink Reply by Ken Henry on January 24, 2013 at 10:49am

You might also have a look around for some rural lumber yards and see what they have ( or at least independent lumber yards).

Permalink Reply by Scott Meredith on January 24, 2013 at 11:01am

So far I have bought all my necks at Home depot with good success just gotta dig sometimes for straight stuff and you can cut to length just what ya need there. I used poplar on necks I wanted to stain and love the maple its super hard but still easy to work with. Seems poplar will flex a bit more but still works good. Carful with exotics like from woodcrafter some are super hard and will dull the crap out of blades router bits ect. That's been my experience. hope it helps

Permalink Reply by Scott Meredith on January 24, 2013 at 11:02am

For more selections try Woodcrafter supply its a chain go to the web site  and find nearest location. 

Permalink Reply by Steve wootten on January 24, 2013 at 11:24am

Stephen oldwolf here let me tell you real quick the best bet is still poplar and red oak from Lowes /home depot that is the combination I've been using from day one. also after doing some research  I've discovered that some of the larger companies are using lime wood and that has about the same basic properties and workability  as poplar ,(poplar is however cheaper)there are a great many things that can be done with this often ignored wood for example I know of one company who is using it for harp sides for full size entry level instruments and there not at all shy about telling the customer that ,that is what is being used .as to the sound ... yes there are some species of wood out there that, blow poplar away sound wise ,but all in all it has a very warm ,clean clear tone that carries very well when used in a well built instrument . when used with red oak it only gets better in that regard. think about this , for me to buy 1 piece of cherry wood that is 19"x30"it will cost me $35.00 not including shipping the piece of music ply wood to make the front of the thing is the same . so there goes $70.00 bucks before I even get started never mind the red oak 1/4"x1/4"x36"from lowes /home depot, go to hobby lobby for your small wood they generally have a better selection, including maple, that I know can be worked by hand and glued up with epoxy etc.to build necks and some of the maple I've found there was/is very nicely figured and once sanded and lacquered looks like it came out of a professional shop . I'm not a pro by any means I'm just like most of you guys ,a  disabled vet with more time o my hands than I care to have and a need to do something to keep from going nuts . I'm building cbg's and walking dulcimers I repair old guitars and I have a shop that is located in one half of the living room of the house , I've been blessed with a very understanding wife who knows how to keep her man happy . I have very few power tools and I do most of my work by hand , this makes for longer build times and all that goes with it , but I think I end up with a better product in the long run  either way I'm having fun doing it and  isn't that what it is all about? good luck and i hope I've managed to answer some of your questions along the way Stephen Oldwolf

Permalink Reply by Michael Recchione on January 24, 2013 at 11:52am

Wow - another hand tool guy who's using his living room as his shop!  I thought I was the only one...  I'd be really interested in hearing more about your set-up, tools, etc. 

Permalink Reply by Steve wootten on January 24, 2013 at 12:38pm

rear well mike the way I see it my wife works 6 days per. week and what the gov.  gives me is a crime s.s.d. is no better and between them they were trying to drive me out of what was left of my mind .then I met my wife ...we have been together for just over a year and have been married for the last8 /9 months during that time I have managed to get myself involved in working with a local church group who help out folks who need more help than we do . I use my talents such as they are to bring smiles to the faces of folks who would not usually have anything to smile about.....ok enough preaching...lol I have my shop set up in the back half of the living room because the temp.here in fl. can get just a little bit warm, and its hard to work when you cant see for the sweat pouring down your face. I use almost all hand tools many of them old school and more than a few home made by me when i need to do something and I don't have the tool for the job i usually just make something to get it done and move on to the next thing ... i'm nothing special i am just trying to help my wife to pay the bills and have a bit of fun in the process ill share more with yah later when i'm feeling better go ahead an add me to your friend list and we can chat back an forth .I remain S, oldwolf

Permalink Reply by wormil on January 24, 2013 at 11:34am

Padauk and ebony.

Permalink Reply by Don Tucker on January 24, 2013 at 11:43am

I live in Canada so the wood available here may not be the same, or priced the same as other places. Poplar, maple, red and white oak are readily available and not too expensive. My personal favourite combination is a maple neck with a red oak fingerboard. I choose this mostly for cosmetic reasons. Any of these woods are strong enough. 

Permalink Reply by Michael Recchione on January 24, 2013 at 11:47am

I'm only on my second build right now, so I probably don't qualify as an expert.  But the first build was a short-scale (18") fretless 3-string with high action, meant to be played with a slide.  I used the poplar 1x2 everyone's talking about for the neck, and used the 1/4" x 2" "project poplar" or whatever it's called for the fingerboard.  It came out great, and the poplar was a compete joy to work with.

My second build is modeled on a Greek baglamas, which is basically a "trichordo" bouzouki, except tuned up one octave, i.e. a three-course instrument with 6-strings tuned Dd-aa-dd.  Even though the scale length is only 375 mm (about 14.75"), I thought this would be subjected to much higher tension than the first project, so I opted for the maple 1x2 for the neck, rather than the poplar, and still the same 1/4"x2" poplar for the fretboard.  Due to factors I won't go into, my "shop" is currently my kitchen table and a Workmate in my living room.  I work with non-electric hand tools exclusively, except for an electric hand-drill, and I have to say that the maple has been a total pain in the neck (no pun intended) to work with.  Working maple with hand-planes, etc, without a proper workbench, is pretty challenging.  \

Since starting this project, I've decided that using maple was definitely overkill - I read that traditional baglamas were carved as one piece (the neck and body, that is), from a single block of a wood like basswood (lime) or butternut, both of which are much easier to carve and work with hand tools than maple is, and those traditional instruments held up just fine.

So I guess the answer is, it depends on what you're doing.  A full-scale 6 string guitar probably does better with a wood like maple for the neck, and may even need a truss rod to keep it from being pulled up.  But a lot of the 3 and 4-string instruments that we tend to make probably don't need that much strength in the neck - lightness and workability are more important.  And, of course, if you've got a fully equipped power-tool shop, it probably doesn't matter all that much what you use, other than that, if you make it too heavy, it'll be a pain to play it...

Permalink Reply by Steve wootten on January 24, 2013 at 1:03pm

ok mike here's the thing I'm in a situation where I not only build c.b.gs, but i like you design and build out side of the cigar box lo i've got a beauty of a walking dulcimer that has better sound than some of the professional models that I've listened to and the reason is simple l take as much time as it takes to get the job done right . not that all of my builds have come out like this one although I've been doing this off and on for a while I still make mistakes ,the trick is to never be in a rush to get it done no matter what as soon as i start to go faster my wife tells me to slow down and if i don't well there goes some more fire wood out the door and on to the wood pile have fun with it and don't worry about what anyone one else thinks if you think you can do it odds are you can . among other things I am a painter mostly watercolor though lately I've been getting into the acrylics and i'm finding that I'm having fun with them too mostly i'm doing nature scenes but i do some abstract stuff too mostly I paint when i'm in too much pain to work at anything else . this sometimes produces some very strange peaces of "art" like one series I've been painting for the last 15 years or so called "fierce fish" matter of fact I recently started one that I will be putting on my motorcycle's gas tank , one on each side of it  both of the "fierce fish" are totally new ones so it should be interesting .more later my wife just got up from her nap, so it is backgammon time  see yah s.oldwolf 

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