Canuck Brian Posted November 1, 2006 Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 Hey everyone.. I was really thinking about using a pair of zebrawood neck laminates in my 5 piece laminate neck. I have a few concerns 1) i haven't seen it used for neck wood. Which might answer my wondering right there.... 2) The pieces i have are more than long enough and wide enough to get perfect sizes. Problem is that they're arlready quartersawn. If i make the neck with these boards, the grain will be going in the undersirable flatsawn direction, with the other boards in quartersawn direction. So stead of ||||| for a grain pattern across the 5 boards, i'll have |-|-| . Would that be highly undersirable? I really want to use zebrawood in the neck. 3) that beig said, i have board large enough for a bolt on neck which is already quartersawn. I know it'll be heavy, but it'll look good. Any other concerns? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyd Posted November 1, 2006 Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 I have seen it done in laminates I dont think id trust it personally, but thats just me, zebrawood isnt exactly known for its strength but laminated next to some maple or other hard wood it should be ok. Norstrand, a well known bass builder has done it heres a photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted November 1, 2006 Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 Granted, Zebrawood isn't real strong. It's still pretty good. If your piece is thick enough for a bolt on then slice it up for laminates. If you make them thick enough you'll get to see some of the grain too. I've never used it for laminates simply because the effect is lost when it's thin. If you're planning to make your neck from solid zebrawood, then I might be concerned about it's stability. If the piece you have is seasoned well and still stays straight then you should be all right. Over the years I've noticed that it tends to "wander" more than other woods. <aybe laminate the zebrawood with thin layers of something else like wenge. That'd be a pretty cool combo. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 +1 on zebra changing shape and being pretty soft. but I could see it as a fretboard or if with some nice hardwoods being decent.. and wouldnt you want it to be flatsawn with zebra? It was my understanding that the grain shows up more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
low end fuzz Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 my lado had an inch center thru the neck(and body/thru-nek) and never a problem; it was also 20 years old when i bought it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 I agree with Doug. At least his observations seem to be the same as what I have seen. Zebrawood is a great looking wood. It does seem to wander if it is not really well dried. Desopolis-Zebrawood is usually cut quartersawn to show off the look it is known for. I have seen flatsawn pieces that have a very different look(very high contrast flat sawn look, kinda like Ash figure on steriods). Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 wow, i figued they'd cut it as cheap as possible.. the Zebra was very cheap.. think this is QS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 wow, i figued they'd cut it as cheap as possible.. the Zebra was very cheap.. think this is QS? http://www.desopolis.com/guitar/zebrasized.jpg Absolutely QS. Why would they cut a wood so that it loses it's most stiking feature? Also; the wood does not have to be dead quarter to get the look. Just less than say 45 deg. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 wow, i figued they'd cut it as cheap as possible.. the Zebra was very cheap.. think this is QS? http://www.desopolis.com/guitar/zebrasized.jpg Absolutely QS. Why would they cut a wood so that it loses it's most stiking feature? Also; the wood does not have to be dead quarter to get the look. Just less than say 45 deg. Peace,Rich Rich nailed it. I can't say as I have ever seen flatsawn ZW in the racks where I buy it. It makes a great fingerboard. I've done it many times and have always been very pleasantly surprised with the end result. It would make me very nervous using boards like the ones pictured in a neck as laminates. That grain has way too much wander to it, and with it the potential to warp the neck. It should be fine for a fingerboard though since it's not likely to bend a neck sideways. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToneMonkey Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 I gave it a go with a ZW middle laminate and outside maninates of maple. Unfortunately the neck was scrapped due to some dodgy maple so it was never under tension. I didn't really worry about warping that much (rightly or wrongly) as my laminate had a truss rod running right through the middle of it. Still got the neck, unfinished, and it's as straight as the day I made it. The endgrain is an absolute bitch, rock solid, it seems to compact together, go shiney and eat sandpaper. Something that may be worth thinking about. When I glued together the laminates, I cut a small sliver of wood off the blank to make the fingerboard. That was to get it as close to looking like one piece without putting a skunk stripe through my lovely ZW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son of Magni Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 I've used it, but I'd combine it with other wood for a neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRossitter Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 Haha...I was wondering the same thing myself the other night. I got some nice 1/4" Zebra the other week that has been sitting there begging to be used. Im tempted to do a fingerboard with it...so it's nice to hear that some of you have done it. Do any of you have pics of the finished product? I would love to see how the fingerboard looks as zebra. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 oh that zebra wont be apart of a neck any time soon. the square piece is a bookmatch for a pickguard and the piece on the left is a 1/4 of the same board that I was going to use as a fretboard but decided to go with somthing classyer for this guitar.. I probobly will still make a neck with it.. just not right now. I need to learn more about how to tell grain orientation, especially for off woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 There is a great example of what I meant about flatsawn. Look at Son of Magni's laminate on the back of the body. The contrasting colors make it look like well defined Swamp Ash. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 There is a great example of what I meant about flatsawn. Look at Son of Magni's laminate on the back of the body. The contrasting colors make it look like well defined Swamp Ash. Peace,Rich Yep, "ash on steroids" for sure. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Brian Posted November 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2006 (edited) ah....i'm going to rethink my idea using of zebrawood. Thanks everyone for the input and info! Have to figure out a neat maple/mahogany/purpleheart sort of thing now.... with a zebrawood fretboard......and zebrawood capped mahogany wings...... gotta find a place for all that zebrawood now! Edited November 3, 2006 by Canuck Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted November 3, 2006 Report Share Posted November 3, 2006 Hey Brian, if you have trouble finding any Zebrawood, let me know what kind you're looking for (dimensions included) and I'll keep an eye out next time I go to the hardwood store. I just picked up some neat Zebrawood for a fellow PG'er last time I went. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Brian Posted November 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2006 Thanks for the offer! I sadly bought a lot of zebrawood already with the intent of making neck blanks, fretboards and tops. I might make a table out of one of them..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postal Posted November 4, 2006 Report Share Posted November 4, 2006 If you do a lam nec with another stiffer wood, it will be fine.... I made 2 zebra/ wenge lam necks with no issues, and have 2 more in the works. Zebra alone, I wouldnt trust, but with another dense wood, should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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