sepultura999 Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 I got a bass body off ebay around December. Before I knew any knowledge of guitars I thought I could just stick any neck on it (silly me, but im noob haha). The body is a lotus, LPS/Ibanez GAX sort of shape. Anyways the neck I need is a 32 inch scale, and for 6 months of looking on ebay I've had no luck at all. I've seen fenders like mad and the occasional EB0. I've decided to just start to build my own. I was thinking of using a walnut neck with an ebony fretboard or perhaps a bloodwood fretboard. Reason why I'm using walnut is mainly because I'm on a strict tight budget and thought it would be useful to use the gigantic tree that fell in my yard almost crushing my neighbours house. My questions are; Can any wood work with any wood? Like Walnut work with Bloodwood? I know Walnut can work with Ebony (thanks Dr.Jabsco). How would I go about prepareing the walnut - I'd have to cut a big enough limb off but would I have to shape it to a block and let it sit for a few days? Would I have to shape it from a specific part of the limb, such as cut more towards the centre rather than the outside? Any help is appreciated and does not go unnoticed. Also, if you know of any sites that sell 32 inch scale premade necks that would be good too incase I fail misserably haha. -Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrock Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 (edited) You could cut it up, but then you'd have to wait a few years for it to dry. I know becuse there has been slab of sycamore in my shed for ages now and it's still wetter than Peewee Herman in the shower. I'm not actually sure (well infact I don't actually know) if walnut would be suitable for a neck. I don't know if it's stable enough and I think the & versions of the tree are different anyway. I did find that neck laminates were suprisingly cheap. If you use a couple of maple laminates on the outside and some other suitable wood in the middle, you should be able to pick it up quite easy. I also found that once you stop worrying about it and just get on with it, shaping a neck wasn't too hard, you've just got to be careful Good luck dude. Oh yeah, still chop the tree up and leave it in the shed to dry. That way in a few years you'll have some lovely wood (you might need to wax the endgrain of walnut to make sure it doesn't go funky though) Edited October 7, 2004 by Hotrock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MzI Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 ive used black walnut for a neck, i made mine a 5 piece laminate, then additionally 2 separate pieces for the scarf joint and headstock, its beyond rock solid, as for cuttin a limb and what not, itll take years to air dry unless you can find a kiln to dry it for you, for a neck you could check out carvin, warmoth, and us custom guitars, they are all custom shops that will build pretty much anything you want MzI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sepultura999 Posted October 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 Everytime I go to warmoth's website they make it sound like they only build necks to fit Fenders only. I probably could find a kiln since I live up here in Canada. My French uncle in law may even have one for all I know haha. Can any kind of wood work with any kind of wood? -Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MzI Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 yes you can put anykind of wood against anykind of wood, its not like different types of metal where it reacts and rusts, just becareful of what types of wood you choose to use because some are not suitable for guitar building MzI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sepultura999 Posted October 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 Alright thanks everyone. One more though lol; If I use the walnut tree limb, would I have to shape it from a specific part of the tree limb, such as cut more towards the centre rather than the outside? -Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted October 8, 2004 Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 Depending how big it is, you most likely want to take a slice just off-center. But...it sounds to me as if you're charging ahead without wanting to wait for the wood to dry. Seriously, to air dry it takes about 1-2 years per inch of thickness, maybe more for walnut. If you use "green" wood, the tone will be very dull and the neck will warp like crazy as it dries out. Find a local hardwood dealer, and you could get yourself a good 3-ft+ board of (dry) walnut for under $40; then cut a few cross-sections of the neck, laminate them together, and have a go at it. I like walnut a lot, rock solid which is what you need for a bass neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sepultura999 Posted October 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 (edited) Thanks erikbojerik. I'm thinking of cutting it to a block (just off centre like you said) and taking it to a kiln. If I can't find one in Toronto Canada where I live my uncle can get it done since he goes to Quebec all the time, and they're the biggest lumberjacks in the world haha. I was thinking of using ebony or bloodwood for the fretboard, which of course I'd buy. I really don't feel like waiting a year since the bass body has been sitting in my room in a box since December. Here's a pic of it. lotus body with custom pickguard EDIT: Well I'm a moron. The tree is not walnut (sorry everyone). I'm 17 so I don't exactly know which tree is which around my house and when I asked my mom she misheard what I asked. The tree that fell and almost crushed my neighbours house is an apricot tree. I also have 3 tree limbs of cherry lieing around outside. Can apricot or cherry be used for a guitar neck? Please help and sorry about the error. EDIT2: I went to USAcustomguitars.com and I give them thumbs up for their selection however... Standard Bass Necks We offer 20 or 21 fret 4 string necks with 34" scale length. Our 34" scale 5-string bass necks are 22 frets with a fingerboard overhang and the 35" scale 5-string bass necks are 21 frets with an overhang. We also have 21 fret 30" scale 6 string bass neck to be used with our Baritone-VI body only. NO 32" SCALE - haha oh man, why all the hate? lol -Jamie Edited October 8, 2004 by sepultura999 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heugel Posted October 8, 2004 Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 Glad I stumbled across this thread. I'm not from the Toronto area, but a friend of mine (who's also a very good guitar player) grew up there. His dad is a senior buyer for a very large lumber company up there. I'll give him a call this weekend and see if he can recommend any local shops or treaters in the Toronto area that might be able to supply you with a good neck blank or dry out that chunk you got out of your yard. As far as using cherry or apricot, I'm not sure... I'm still a rookie, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddler68 Posted October 8, 2004 Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 I know here in the states (at least in the midwest) you can get a guy to come out with a portable sawmill and cut up your tree for cheap! My uncle had it done last summer on 2 walnut trees for $125! They cut up the entire trees (more likely just the trunks) into 1 and 2 inch thick lumber as long as 10 feet! I have no idea what kiln drying would cost though - he's air drying his for a few years. Sure, it might be an investment up front, but you would not be sorry in three years when you're drooling over a ton of perfectly dried walnut. You could even sell some to finance more projects. You might even be able to go in with a couple guys to offset the cost and then split the wood among you. It would be a shame to see it just turn into firewood, or worse - mulch! Check out this website for more info on processing trees for lumber: Trees to lumber I know this doesn't solve your immediate issue - just something to think about. btw, I used 2 walnut laminates in my thru-neck. Looks great! And I've heard of cherry being used before as well. No idea on apricot, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddler68 Posted October 8, 2004 Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 Well I'm a moron. The tree is not walnut (sorry everyone). I'm 17 so I don't exactly know which tree is which around my house and when I asked my mom she misheard what I asked. The tree that fell and almost crushed my neighbours house is an apricot tree. I also have 3 tree limbs of cherry lieing around outside. Can apricot or cherry be used for a guitar neck? Please help and sorry about the error. I too am a moron I only skimmed your last reply and didn't realize your tree was not walnut. Oh well, it's good information to have anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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