Zebrano Baritone With Wenge Neck

[Jon]

Oh yeah, Wenge has awesome tap tone (the good pieces, that is). That and Padauk have a pretty sweet combination of tap tone.

[travismoore]

3. removing less than half an inch of zebrano can make a surprising amount of mess!

I know what u mean on my bass when i chiseld out the cavity it just filled my room with mess lol

Good luck on the build i cant wait to see how it turns out =D

[jmrentis]

I've been having a tough time planing that stuff as well. Certain areas seem to plane like a dream, these were the darker, more quartered, denser areas. The whiter more figured looking areas were crazy. I would get half way down the board everything fine, then chunk! ??? To fix it I would actually have to come back from the opposite direction, the grain direction was all over the place I think. It was tough to figure out. I gotta thin it like you did, and I am going to use a router jig on some rails to take off some and cut the cavity cover plate.

My nose isn't all that good, but many people complain about a horrible smell coming from that stuff, come across this yet? Best of luck and keep them pics coming. J

[Jon]

I don't remember zebrawood smelling too good, but with my current dust collection it's hard to tell unless I put my nose against the board. I do plan on building a Wenge baritone neck for my beast guitar with a zebrawood fingerboard soon, would be really cool to compare how your project turns out to the neck I build.

[Ben]

I've been having a tough time planing that stuff as well. Certain areas seem to plane like a dream, these were the darker, more quartered, denser areas. The whiter more figured looking areas were crazy. I would get half way down the board everything fine, then chunk! ??? To fix it I would actually have to come back from the opposite direction, the grain direction was all over the place I think. It was tough to figure out. I gotta thin it like you did, and I am going to use a router jig on some rails to take off some and cut the cavity cover plate.

My nose isn't all that good, but many people complain about a horrible smell coming from that stuff, come across this yet? Best of luck and keep them pics coming. J

I had the same problem.. planing in one direction gave me nice results, planing in the opposite direction gave me tear out. Trouble is that the directions varied at different parts of the blank!

I got it ok at the end... just needs sanding to sort out the last few imperfections.

My hands were literally red raw when I finished planing. They're still sore now!

The smell is very weak... what I smell is not a nice smell but its not that bad really. Barely noticable.

I did actually use a router initially to remove the material faster. I routed channels in the surface leaving 'rails' of zebrano for the router to run on, then I planed down the raised sections that I used as rails.

[Ben]

I don't remember zebrawood smelling too good, but with my current dust collection it's hard to tell unless I put my nose against the board. I do plan on building a Wenge baritone neck for my beast guitar with a zebrawood fingerboard soon, would be really cool to compare how your project turns out to the neck I build.

Cool!

Be sure to post pics. I think zebrano and wenge compliment each other really well.

[Jon]

Definitely. I'm no guitarist, but I'd love to get back into writing solo music and I'm a big fan of Meshuggah and the use of lower notes on the electric guitar. Not to mention it helps to have a F# on both guitar and bass, rather than just on bass.

[jmrentis]

I believe that I have seen Meshuggah before in concert. I believe they opened for Tool on a certain tour Tool did. They were quite impressive. In a 3 song crazy instrumental Tool did a few of the guys from Meshuggah came out and did some wicked percussion. It was an amazing show, both sets were freakin great! J

[PTU 7's.]

The template looks very good. I want to see that beast become.

BTW nice selection of woods.

[Ben]

^picture of the grain in my body blank. I think I got a nice piece.

And here is a pic of the pickup and neck pocket routes I did today. Everything went to plan with no problems, except the bridge pickup template slipped a little bit, meaning the route ended up slightly non-perpendicular to the centre-line, but it was only about 1mm max deviation from what I intended so the mounting ring will easily cover it.

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h86/bent.../PHTO0021-2.jpg

[Ben]

oh and I've finished rough-cutting the outline since that pic was taken, and also the zebrano is less green than it looks in those pics.

Also, the weight isn't feeling too bad at the moment, and theres still plenty of wood left to be removed.

[WezV]

The zebrano looks nice but be carefull Ben, you have only had the wood for a very short time and we are having very erratic weather at the moment. It should really get, as the bare minimum, a couple of weeks to actlimatise to wherever you are building the guitar!!

[travismoore]

Looking good man =D

[DanielM]

to make cutting easier you could drill holes at set intervals and then join them up. I did it on my Zebra wood build and it worked out fine. but it did take some careful routing as it did Tear out like nobody's business if you didn't watch out... looks great though!

btw always wear a mask with zebra wood that stuff is nasty!

[Ben]

The zebrano looks nice but be carefull Ben, you have only had the wood for a very short time and we are having very erratic weather at the moment. It should really get, as the bare minimum, a couple of weeks to actlimatise to wherever you are building the guitar!!

Why? What will happen? could it warp or crack or something?

I tend to work on it in the garage, then bring it indoors when I'm done with it; if it spends most of its time indoors is there such a problem?

What would you suggest I do? leave it in the garage for two weeks?

Edit: heh just noticed how demanding that post sounds with its 6 questions

Edited July 5, 2007 by Ben

[Ben]

to make cutting easier you could drill holes at set intervals and then join them up. I did it on my Zebra wood build and it worked out fine. but it did take some careful routing as it did Tear out like nobody's business if you didn't watch out... looks great though!

btw always wear a mask with zebra wood that stuff is nasty!

I've finished rough cutting the body and I'm onto routing the outline now- I did actually end up doing what you suggest with the holes.

I also came across the tear out... routing in one direction (where the router bit blade is going with the grain if that makes sense) gives a really nice smooth finish, routing the other way against the grain gives INSANE tearout! luckily I was a good distance from the body outline when I discovered this.

My solution was to route all the curves where the bit goes with the grain from the front, then to flip the blank over and do the others from the other side. Seems to be working so far, not finished yet though.

~And I checked the list on the MIMF; apparantly Zebrawood dust is a sensitizer of the eye & skin, with great potency, but its effects are rare. I've been using a mask for most of the time, but my mask is admittedly pretty crappy.

----

Also when routing I've begun to notice the smell a little more

It smells like farms. Its not that bad really.

[Ben]

Just broke my template router bit :D

I'll have to try the shop near me tomorrow... otherwise I'll have to talk my dad into taking me to B&Q

[Jon]

The zebrano looks nice but be carefull Ben, you have only had the wood for a very short time and we are having very erratic weather at the moment. It should really get, as the bare minimum, a couple of weeks to actlimatise to wherever you are building the guitar!!

Why? What will happen? could it warp or crack or something?

I tend to work on it in the garage, then bring it indoors when I'm done with it; if it spends most of its time indoors is there such a problem?

What would you suggest I do? leave it in the garage for two weeks?

Edit: heh just noticed how demanding that post sounds with its 6 questions

It could warp or check. Every board I've purchased from online has warped a small amount, then after a couple weeks it goes back to where it was when I opened the package. If you were to glue it after a few days of getting the board, you might glue it while it's trying to acclimate and the entire body may warp. I've had one board ever check from the lumberyard, but that was because it was during the 40+ consecutive days of 100F+ Texas heat. Gotta be careful where you store your wood! It's best to seal the end-grain and leave it in a more open sheltered from weather area, like a garage. Then bring it in for a couple weeks. I've never had a board check going this route, but every board I have ever worked with has had 8% or less moisture content.

[Ben]

The zebrano looks nice but be carefull Ben, you have only had the wood for a very short time and we are having very erratic weather at the moment. It should really get, as the bare minimum, a couple of weeks to actlimatise to wherever you are building the guitar!!

Why? What will happen? could it warp or crack or something?

I tend to work on it in the garage, then bring it indoors when I'm done with it; if it spends most of its time indoors is there such a problem?

What would you suggest I do? leave it in the garage for two weeks?

Edit: heh just noticed how demanding that post sounds with its 6 questions

It could warp or check. Every board I've purchased from online has warped a small amount, then after a couple weeks it goes back to where it was when I opened the package. If you were to glue it after a few days of getting the board, you might glue it while it's trying to acclimate and the entire body may warp. I've had one board ever check from the lumberyard, but that was because it was during the 40+ consecutive days of 100F+ Texas heat. Gotta be careful where you store your wood! It's best to seal the end-grain and leave it in a more open sheltered from weather area, like a garage. Then bring it in for a couple weeks. I've never had a board check going this route, but every board I have ever worked with has had 8% or less moisture content.

Hmm, well, my wenge should be fine then, since it still has its endgrain sealed, I've left it in the garage and it'll be a few weeks before I'll be making the neck anyway.

What do you think I should do with the zebrano though?

Now I've started working on it is it too late, or should I somehow reseal the end grain and then leave it?

And how likely is it to warp or check? Its a 1 piece blank, and its almost entirely quatersawn. Its so big, hard and solid feeling that I cant imagine it warping... (not that that feeling is based on any knowledge or experience of wood)

Also I take it indoors when I'm not working on it, and the sticker on the side of it said it had been kiln dried I think.

Sorry for all the questions- you've got me worried

Edited July 6, 2007 by Ben

[jmrentis]

I don't have answers for you, but I can tell you that it can happen. I had a one piece purpleheart body blank, that ended up warpring on me. It is hard to tell exactly what caused it, but for about a week it got well over 100 each day, with one day being like 110, which was extremely hot for San Diego. Anyhow, I had forgotten I left it in the garage, where the temps were even higher and just before that week I had drilled out a lot of wood for use in a semi hollow. Either way when I went out it had warped and even with all the help from this board I couldn't get it back to straight. I still have plans for it, but it ruined the plan I was working on. Anyhow, purpleheart is a hard and heavy wood and still warped no problem and I had that piece for a while too, but that drastic weather change I think ruined it, which is the same as shipping to a different environment. Anyhow, I'm sure the guys will have good advice for you, they always help out in these situations. Best of luck. J

[WezV]

Just leave it well alone for a couple of weeks - i know thats hard to do!! 2 weeks is the bare minimum you should leave the wood after you buy it - really it should be months or years but i know that isnt always practical!

If you have any problems appear in that two weeks you will still be able to do something to sort them out - if you get the guitar finalised and then leave it - any problems that appear will be a lot harder to sort.

Mainly you will be looking out for warping and checking, big hefty chunks of wood still warp and check and they dont need adverse weather conditions to cause it!

The conditions in your garage and house will be different to the place craft supplies stored the wood so t needs to aclimatise.

It would be a good idea to keep the guitar in the place you will be working on it rather than moving it backwards and forwards from the garage

[Ben]

Just leave it well alone for a couple of weeks - i know thats hard to do!! 2 weeks is the bare minimum you should leave the wood after you buy it - really it should be months or years but i know that isnt always practical!

If you have any problems appear in that two weeks you will still be able to do something to sort them out - if you get the guitar finalised and then leave it - any problems that appear will be a lot harder to sort.

Mainly you will be looking out for warping and checking, big hefty chunks of wood still warp and check and they dont need adverse weather conditions to cause it!

The conditions in your garage and house will be different to the place craft supplies stored the wood so t needs to aclimatise.

It would be a good idea to keep the guitar in the place you will be working on it rather than moving it backwards and forwards from the garage

Ok cheers

I'm going on holiday for a couple of weeks in a few days, so it will be easier to leave it alone than you'd imagine!

I dont want to screw this up so I'll restrain myself from touching it until we leave. It should end up with almost a month actually thinking about it...

I dont want to leave it any longer than that though- I need to finish this before I go back to uni in october!

[jmrentis]

Well that sounds like it will work out perfect for you. I completely understand how tough it can be to wait for wood. Thankfully, most of the wood on my current build I bought like a year ago or more, but then had problems and wasn't able to work on building and now I can a little and everything is perfectly acclimated, lol.

Will you be stopping by the site while on holiday or is this a get away from everything type getaway, lol. Have fun. J

PS: What are the feelings on inlays?? If you just got a board and started inlaying within a week, do you think the movement would be enough to cause gaps. I have no intention of doing as such as I always let the stuff air for quite a while, just curious. I was thinking about guys like Clavin and wondering if they get the boards and start pretty much right off, if they are not completely backed up. Any thoughts? J

[zyonsdream]

I only buy wood that has been kiln dry. This eliminates checking (unless your average humidity in your shop is less than 6%) then even being kiln dried you can still have checking and warping.

Over the life time of a guitar the wood will experience varying degrees of humidity and temperature. If you oil finish your guitars then the wood is still exposed to humidity. So, if you build a guitar in a room that’s at 10% humidity and then you hang it on the wall in your upstairs that’s at 17% humidity for a few days the wood will move. It’s natural for wood to contrast and expand over time. There is nothing you can do about that.

It also affects guitars coated with nitro or poly (any hard coat actually). Wood expands at a different rate than a hard coat which is why a finish is prone to cracking if left in a cold/hot car. The wood expands/contrasts and the finish doesn’t at the same rate and before you know it, you have spider cracks on your hard coat.

I’ve built a ton of guitars over the years and I’ve never had one go crazy on me after it was completed. Humidity and movement is all part of the game.

As for the Zebra. I actually had a bit pull out of my router because the zebra was playing hell with it. I can understand why your template bit broke on you. Nothing scarier than a bit flying at you at 20,000 RPM! I got lucky and caught mine before it came out.

[WezV]

even with kiln dried wood it is still good practice to let your wood aclimatise to the enviroment it will be built in! Thats just basic woodwork

Humidity and movement is all part of the game

it certainly is, thats why its important to minimise any movement thats going to happen before you start building. It wont mean that it will never move again, but it will help give you something fairly constant to work with.