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Permalink Reply by Rick Alexander on October 20, 2016 at 4:18pm

I get maple 1x2's (actually 1.5x.75) from Home Depot. They also have 1/4"x 1.5"x2ft pieces of red oak for about $2 a piece that work good for fretboards. I don't know about cedar.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Bliss on October 20, 2016 at 5:57pm

There are very different kinds of cedar, and the traits vary widely. Generally available common species would not be a good neck choice IMO.

The best choice is usually a hard/rigid species, and as suggested, maple fits the bill, and is also readily available.

However, there are possible compromises to consider. If you are building for example, a three string shorter scale instrument especially, the loads are low enough to get away with softer material that is easier to work with if you have limited tools. I have occasionally used poplar for instance, which is much easier to cut and shape. Properly designed, it is plenty strong when finished. (I laminated multiple pieces with the grain running in a beneficial direction.) Here is a build blog detailing one such build, where my objective was to show some possibilities working strictly with hand tools.

If you intend to just use a simple 1X3" laid flat like some typical "stick in a box" builds or something, go with the maple and/or oak option.

JMO.

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