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Anybody Ever Used Iroko For A Body?


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Hiya

Well I've been hacking up bits of plywood for practice for a little while now

(a cheep way of finding out which bits are more difficult than the seem....)

I have now been offered a 1.5" thick body sized peice of Iroko that a friend has lieing around.

(Great real hard wood and my wife wont whinge about me waisting money (she's been pretty good so far) but the impending pillar drill will probably change all that)

I'm currently making a plywood thinline/PRS thing and was thinking maybe hollow it out and make a better one.

Anyone know what its like to work with... what its sonic properties are... is it better for single coils or humbuckers... will it make a good thinline?... How it stains...

or anything about probably the only hardwood in the world that never seems to make its way into an electric guitar...

I have a couple of bookmatched maple tops around and would like to know if this wood is good enough to use one on.

Any ideas???

Edited by The royal consort
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My wood guy has some Iroko lying about I had a look at last time I was there, it seemed very much like Mahogony to me.

I would snap it up and use it without a second thought (or before he changes his mind) especially a 1-piece blank like that, and you already have your 1/4" tops ready to go.

Jump on it.

Now.

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Cheers

Apparently Iroko is part of the same family as Sapele (dont know if I spelt that right :D )

so its probably similar....

If only someone round here'd actually used it...

Just sorting out getting it dilivered then its on to the New Build forum I guess

Cheers for the help and encouragement

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  • 3 weeks later...

I used to use it sometimes for kitchen worktops....

It's also known as bastard mahogany because it looks very similar, very nasty to work with, don't get any splinters or it will get infected, don't get the dust in your eyes & don't breath it!

It's quite oily so I'm not sure how it will take a finish, we used to give it an oil finish.

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Iroko? Like mahogany? Really not s'much. It's a teak substitute wood, stays great outdoors, is hard as hell on tools, it's the only wood I've ever gotten allergic reactions to (sniffles, slight skin irritation/rash). It's pretty enough, massive pores, easy enough to fill and finish, but it is harder, heavier, and doesn't work like or sound like mahogany in the very slightest. Much brighter tone. Neck lams and outer wings on this one are Iroko, and my first is Iroko bodied, chambered, and bright as hell:

travel_scrap1.jpg

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  • 15 years later...

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