Avocado Wood For Neck Through ?

[mvotre]

hi there ! i live in brazil, and got two huge logs of avocado wood here ! they are all dried and stuff, and im just thinking about using it to build a neck through guitar neck ! im searching at google right now, and i found this:

"True, avocado was once tested and found to be an excellent replacement for spruce in guitar and violin sounding boards, but the supply was irregular and limited. So now only local carvers benefit from the easily worked wood."

so, would a guitar neck made from spruce works ? if i ever try to build that, i will just use a trussrod and at least two carbon rods ! but the neck, headstock, and the part that goes through the body would be just one single piece of wood ! can this work at all ? the only thing i can loose is my time, cos i got the wood for free !

thanks for your help, and sorry for my poor english !

marcel

[Mattia]

If it's a spruce-like (I can't comment), then no, don't use it as a neck wood. Body, yes. Acoustic top, yes. Neck, not s'much.

[MP63]

If spruce is used for acoustic tops that are only 3/32" thick and handling all the string tension, then why not for a neck?

How much of the wood choice is just "old habits" and how much is really proven?

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Mike

[azz-230]

This mite be poisibal whith carbon rods, what kind of fretbord u gona use tho?

[Mattia]

If spruce is used for acoustic tops that are only 3/32" thick and handling all the string tension, then why not for a neck?

How much of the wood choice is just "old habits" and how much is really proven?

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Mike

It probably can be done, but still, Spruce isn't THAT strong. It's very, very strong for it's weight, yes, but that's different. Guitar tops are thin, but the majority of the strengh comes from their bracing (spruce, and the hardwood bridge), and the fact that the perimeter is solidly connected to very stiff sides, which ensure the whole thing doesn't deform really quite badly.