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Testing timber for purpose?

What would be a good test of pieces of timber..to determine suitability and best use for a neck and fretboard?

I have three great large pieces of timber (planks) from which I can mill and machine a few necks and a few fretboards.

Now I have many options from these:

1. One piece neck and fretboard.

2. Laminated neck. Same timber or mix timbers

3. Laminated Fretboard to neck. ...so...which timber to choose for neck and which for fretboard?

All have passed my "fingernail densitometer" test.

All have passed my "knuckle tap" resonator test. Confirmed by a wood to wood tap.

All have passed by "eye-ometer" on the end grain test.

Conclussion - I think they are all relatively dense hardwoods with fine straight grain. All are stable and dry. All are warp free.

I have no way of identifying these woods!

So how do I choose what is best for what?

Any other tests I can do?

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Permalink Reply by Dan Mullen on March 7, 2014 at 2:51pm

Craig,

You might post some pictures here and we can see if we can help identify it. It sounds like it should make good neck/fret boards from how you have described it.

Dan

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on March 7, 2014 at 3:17pm

Sandpaper... If 100 grit does little to it, it must be Maple.

Poplar is one of the softer hardwoods, but still works great with or without a laminated fretboard...

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Permalink Reply by Rand Moore on March 7, 2014 at 3:48pm

Hi Craig.

I think you may be over-thinking it. If they are all hard hardwood, then any one of the three should make a fine neck. If you are using hand tools to build your necks, then a softer hardwood might be good to start on. I would think about what other woods you are planning to use in the project and pick woods that "go together" well. For instance, laminate together a neck using contrasting colors, or match the neck (or contrast the neck) from the color wood used for the fretboard (and/or sound box). I like to save the piece with the nicest grain pattern for use as the fretboard. I have used softer hardwoods to laminate together necks, and then in similar instruments used a "solid core" of hard hardwood, and I found the "solid core" necks sound better (sweeter sounding), but that's my subjective opinion. I do a "solid core" neck because I build "paddle-box" style stick dulcimers by gluing on two much longer sapelli (or cherry) wood slats (0.5cm thick) to either side of the solid core neck (&headstock) and these slats also form the sides of the roughly triangular sound box.

-Rand.

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Permalink Reply by Craig Howard on March 7, 2014 at 4:41pm

Thanx guys for all replies.

Thinking..thinking...

It s because I cant identify them...they are unknown "qualities".

I am sure they will all do the CBG job. I aint buildng a Steinway Grand Piano after all. Ha.

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Permalink Reply by Yankee Dog on March 9, 2014 at 3:03am

like you say, you aint building a Steinway.

I try to bend it over my knee. If it wont bend, I figure it will work.

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on March 7, 2014 at 6:45pm

Stating the obvious, why not learn how to identify the wood? It's knowledge that does come in handy over the years. There's plenty of resources on the internet - a lot of timber is quite easily identifiable by its color and grain pattern.

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on March 7, 2014 at 7:03pm

Have a look at this:

http://www.wood-database.com/

I spend hours on this site :)

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Permalink Reply by Michael Fred Johnson on March 9, 2014 at 12:32am

The red mahogany type timbers are good for necks,generally close straight grained and easy to work.Pale harder woods,maple and sycamore,are good for fingerboards and contrast well with the mahogany types.Try the timbers together and if you like the the combination make it.