wwwdotcomdotnet Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 I got these amazing boards of 8/4 mahogany today and can get pieces out of them that are 48"x1.75"x2.25" for through neck guitars and basses. I'd like to do one solid piece neck (with a scarf joint) and two solid mahogany body wings as well. Would this wood work for the necks? I would cut the piece down the middle (width wise) to get two neck blanks, however I am unsure if the way the grain is oriented would be structurally sound enough to support the string tension. The first picture shows the board and how I will get two necks from it. Imagine the fingerboard being glued right on top of the neck blanks as it is oriented in the first picture. Hopefully I am explaining this well enough Any help would be great End grain 1 End grain 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 absolutley. that wood is more than good enough. i still think people underestimate the strength of wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 is that flatsawn? in the end grain picture 2 I`m not sure if what I see is the rings or saw marks. if it is flatsawn I wouldn`t use if for necks. I only use quartersawn mahogany for necks. you can try to find another narrower piece that is quartersawn, and use this for the wings. some people use flatsawn mahogany for necks, but I don`t. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 ive used it on 3 of my builds and you cant even budge it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwwdotcomdotnet Posted February 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Yeah, it is difficult to tell the end grain with the saw marks It is 8/4 mahogany. I think I'm just going to go for it! Thanks everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 like I said, I only use quartersawn mahogany for necks. but that`s just me. flatsawn maple and rosewood would work for me, but with softer woods, always 1/4sawn. and I`m not trying to convince anyone about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Yeah, it is difficult to tell the end grain with the saw marks It is 8/4 mahogany. I think I'm just going to go for it! Thanks everyone well is it quartersawn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Well, if it's flat, you can always cut 'em, flip 'em, and glue 'em together to get a quartersawn block, and then cut them out sideways to still get two neckthrough blanks from it. That's how I did my neck blanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwwdotcomdotnet Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Yeah, it is difficult to tell the end grain with the saw marks It is 8/4 mahogany. I think I'm just going to go for it! Thanks everyone well is it quartersawn? I don't know, thats essentially what I'm asking. Its really hard to tell by the looks of the end grain since the saw marks are more prominent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 looks like it to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwwdotcomdotnet Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 looks like it to me. Looks like it is flatsawn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwwdotcomdotnet Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 So should I just go for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 It is plain or flatsawn. Not quarter. FWIW, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 It is indeed. And while mahogany - like most any wood - may well be more stable quartersawn, it's one of the most stable woods out there, and roughly equally strong in both directions, and IIRC tangential and radial shrinkage are pretty much identical. And do you really think most gibsons use quartered wood for the neck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwwdotcomdotnet Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 It is indeed. And while mahogany - like most any wood - may well be more stable quartersawn, it's one of the most stable woods out there, and roughly equally strong in both directions, and IIRC tangential and radial shrinkage are pretty much identical. And do you really think most gibsons use quartered wood for the neck? Haha, good point. I'm just going to do it. I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be screwed in the end but it sounds like I will be perfectly fine. Thanks everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 It is indeed. And while mahogany - like most any wood - may well be more stable quartersawn, it's one of the most stable woods out there, and roughly equally strong in both directions, and IIRC tangential and radial shrinkage are pretty much identical. And do you really think most gibsons use quartered wood for the neck? Haha, good point. I'm just going to do it. I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be screwed in the end but it sounds like I will be perfectly fine. Thanks everyone! look back on some of my projects. my explorer and my prs were flatsawn mahogany. you couldnt even bend those. you will be more than fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 If you're at all worried, you could always put a couple carbon fiber rods in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwwdotcomdotnet Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 If you're at all worried, you could always put a couple carbon fiber rods in there. I think that's something I will end up doing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 I found some pretty good prices for carbon fiber at kitebuilder.com . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 So yes, as Mattia points out strength is pretty close to equal (not a significant difference between either orientaion). With genuine Mahogany your shrinkage rates are pretty much equal (one of the most stable woods available in this sense. A wood like say Khaya*AKA African Mahogany would be closer to twice the shrinkage in the tangential vs the radial). Not to say CF reinforcement is not nifty, but the strength of Mahogany for a neck is not really in question (it has a long history as being very adequite). Seems like this question pops up a lot. Peace, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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