African Mahogany For Neck

[Rendisha]

I have bought 3 pieces of african mahogany neck blanks. Dimensions are 650mm x 85mm x 25mm (about 25.6 x 3.3 x 1 inch), so I ordered three to have for two necks (in case they turn out to be a bit short, since I'm not sure what shape/size of headstock I will use, but it will be angled and neck would be glued in).

What makes me worried is direction of grain and a bit of bow in blanks. All blanks have slight bow - when tuned face to face the way that bow gets pronounced in the middle, it is some 3mm (1/8 inch) though it could be solved with planing/sanding and still have enough thickness for making neck out of it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/ren...itar/mahog1.jpg

Boards are not 100% quartersawn, seems to be some angle about 10+ degrees.

Top view shows sligth runout toward sides.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/ren...itar/mahog2.jpg

Biggest problem is that grain looks like running from top to bottom side at some 10 degrees, in some places it gets quite flatter.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/ren...itar/mahog3.jpg

and

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/ren...itar/mahog4.jpg

I would like to hear suggestions what to do. I also have some 1/4 inch thick piece of rosewood, long and wide enough for laminates. Options might be:

1. To plan/sand all three blanks and glue them with that rosewood in between and then to make one piece neck out of it (actually two of them, other one rotated 180 degrees). That way neck will be almost flatsawn.

2. To cut blank lengthwise into three strips, flip the middle one and laminate with rosewood in between. Scarf joint for headstock and neck that still would be almost quartersawn.

3. To order maple blank from StewMac and save myself lot of time and nerves, but spending more money also makes me nervous

4. ???

[westhemann]

there is nothing wrong with those blanks that i can see.that is what a neck blank looks like before you plane,cut,and shape it

and besides...i think you are not looking at the grain direction...i think you are looking at the saw cut

[Rendisha]

I now it is hard to tell from those pictures, but there are also some lighter colored streaks that follow those grain lines, also along the edge there are some dents that are also angled...

I don't have experience working with african mahogany, but I am quite positive about the grain being angled (I hope I'm just being paranoid)

[westhemann]

well the thing is...you ae supposed to look at the endgrain...and since you have no pictures of the endgrain,i am quite positive you are not sure what you are looking at.

but i can tell that there is nothing wrong with them.you can never expect the grain to be perfectly straight throughout the entire length.

BUT i would rip em and flip em...that way you can be sure...but i do that with everything...it's just the way i prefer it.

[Setch]

That amount of runout is perfectly OK, and that amount of bow is OK, provided the wood doesn't continue to move, and provided you have sufficient thickness to plane it flat.

[Rendisha]

OK, thanks.