Rick500 Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 I have my eye on a really nice piece of bigleaf maple, which, if I understand correctly, is not hard maple. Just wondering if it would be suitable for a laminated neck with maybe some mahogany or some purpleheart stripes. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 I seen a BC Rich that have a quilt maple neck, but I don't know what type of re enforcement they used into it. I know a lot of people here say that it is not really suitable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doeringer Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 This does not answer the question but may give some insight. I have not tried it in a neck. BIGLEAF MAPLE acer macrophyllum The Bigleaf Maple is also known as Broadleaf Maple, Oregon Maple The Bigleaf Maple is well named as its leaves are enormous with stems often as long as the leaf UNIQUE FEATURES: The Bigleaf Maple is the largest and fastest growing maple in Canada The Bigleaf Maple has a narrow crown supported by a branch-free stem for half its length when grown in the forest. When grown in the open, a few large, spreading branches support a broad crown Seeds are food for small mammals and birds Twigs of the Bigleaf Maple are food for elk and deer Often draped in mosses LOCATION: The Bigleaf Maple is found in the southwest corner of British Columbia Low to mid elevations Coarse, gravelly, moist soils such as found near river, lake and stream edges WOOD CHARACTERISTICS: Close grain, moderate hardness USES: Modern - furniture, interior finishing, musical instruments, flowers can be used in salads (YUM) Traditional - wood: dishes, pipes, clothing hooks, paddles; inner bark: baskets, rope and whisks; young shoots: eaten; sap: type of maple syrup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted January 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Yeah, I ran across some of that info. "Moderately hard" doesn't sound promising, but I figured that laminated with something suitably hard, and maybe with graphite rods, it might work out. Maybe I'll just give it a shot and see what happens. Gotta love maple. You can make a guitar out of it and use its blood on waffles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Yeah, I ran across some of that info. "Moderately hard" doesn't sound promising, but I figured that laminated with something suitably hard, and maybe with graphite rods, it might work out. Maybe I'll just give it a shot and see what happens. Gotta love maple. You can make a guitar out of it and use its blood on waffles. I built a neck out of pine and it still works 1 year later, white pine to be exact. So the maple you have is titanium compared to that. So if pine can work i wouldn't worry about "soft" maple. And keep in mind that soft maple is most likely harder than most hardwoods. Its a relative hardness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Necks have been made from softer wood. I've made them from mahogany so why not Acer macrophyllum? Just make sure the wood is cut properly, ie. quartersawn and has a straight, clean grain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted January 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Thanks guys. I'm going to give it a shot. I still have one in the works to finish before I take on another, but I'll post pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Big leaf is not as stiff as sugar maple. It is the wood of choice for Violins, Cellos, and often used on acoustics. It is less favorable for electrics(it will feel less stiff). It can be used. I would think about adding carbon fiber rods or possibly laminates to up the stiffness. It will work but you need to be aware that it will feel less stiff if you do not use any other treatments. Big leaf is a good resonant wood, but is really not as stiff as what most people are used to on solid body guitars. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Big Leaf maple is perfectly acceptable wood for guitar necks. It is harder than Mahogany and Mahogany is used on a lot of guitar necks. I'm using it on a 5 piece laminate with Jatoba. The one on the left is the soft maple... See pic below. http://pic18.picturetrail.com/VOL912/43163...0/206954969.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Preston Swift Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted January 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Here's the piece in question, btw: Also picked up a really nice piece of spalted maple for some future project: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/rick...paltedmaple.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 To be clear about some of the comparisons. So the maple you have is titanium compared to that. So if pine can work i wouldn't worry about "soft" maple. Actually Western Pine for instance is just slightly less stiff than Big Leaf(it is a softer less dense wood, but is fairly stiff for it's weight). It is harder than Mahogany and Mahogany is used on a lot of guitar necks. Honduran(genuine,true) Mahogany is about the same hardness as Big leaf(side hardness will not make a neck stiff though). More importantly for a neck Mahogany is just a little denser and stiffer(but they are close for sure). As far as the laminates you guys are talking about Jatoba, and Purpleheart at least. They have increadably high MOE's and thet will bring up the stiffness in the neck quite nicely. Nothing wrong with using Big leaf(I love the stuff), but don't water down the fact that it is going to be a bit less stiff than what most people are used to in solid body guitars. He needs to have an honest bit of feedback so he knows what to expect. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Add two carbon fibre rods and its a moot point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted January 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 My plan, still just shaping up and that will probably change several times, is to use the maple to make a neckthrough neck in maple/? veneer/purpleheart/? veneer/maple/? veneer/purpleheart/? veneer/maple neck ("? veneer" being something very dark, depending on what I can find). I see the carbon fiber rods are relatively cheap, so I'll throw a couple in. Thanks for the ideas, guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 (edited) Honduran(genuine,true) Mahogany is about the same hardness as Big leaf(side hardness will not make a neck stiff though). More importantly for a neck Mahogany is just a little denser and stiffer(but they are close for sure). As far as the laminates you guys are talking about Jatoba, and Purpleheart at least. They have increadably high MOE's and thet will bring up the stiffness in the neck quite nicely. Nothing wrong with using Big leaf(I love the stuff), but don't water down the fact that it is going to be a bit less stiff than what most people are used to in solid body guitars. He needs to have an honest bit of feedback so he knows what to expect. Peace,Rich According to this, big leaf maple is slightly harder than Mahogany (Honduran i.e. "real" mahogany). You're right to say that they're similar in hardness but I beg to differ on density. Maple is denser that mahogany as it has closed pores... unless you have a different notion of density. I have both species here and from what I can see, the maple does seem to be a little harder. Regardless, the difference is minimal and big leaf maple should be just fine for a neck, especially with hard woods included in the laminate. Edited January 6, 2007 by guitar2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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