Bubinga Neck

[ngaa]

What does everyone here think of a bibinga neck, would it be very hard to shape? Also what are the upsides and downsides of it?

Josh

[ToddW]

I have it as the center laminate on the neck I'm currently carving. It's very strong and stiff, which is good.

However, it's also very hard so shaping will be a chore. It does shape nicely with microplanes. It's also a very heavy wood. Depending on your guitar's body, a completely bubinga neck might throw off the balance.

And just as an FYI, when I used bubinga lamanates on a mini guitar for my son, two of the tuner screws had to go into Bubinga. The other 4 tuner's screws were in maple. Even though I pre drilled it, I snapped one screw in the bubinga because my pilot hole was too small. Hard stuff!

-Todd

[ngaa]

Thank you for the information.. I think I might go with a full bubinga. I just need more information.

[killemall8]

ive done many searches on here for bubinga. there are a ton of helpful topics, and seems to be easier to find than most other stuff.

bubinga is extremly stiff, which we all know makes a great neck. i would say its one of the best for neck building, but it is sometimes hard to find a really clear straight piece. but i wouldnt even hesitate to use a figured piece since its so strong.

[ngaa]

I've got a really nice piece of straight grained bubinga. So that would be great for a neck?

[WezV]

todd's comments about the difficulty with carving are well worth listening to, i attempted a solid one once and i must confess i never finished it... probably could now my tools are better/sharper though

[ngaa]

Well thanks for the information guys, I think I might tackle the bubinga neck.. To shape my necks I use a giant bastard file and it tears through everything else without a problem. Then I clean it up with cabinet scrapers/finer files.

Josh

[WezV]

yeah, it will still work - but it will be much slower and your arm will ache a lot more... there will probably be a moment half way through when bubinga seemed unwise but carry on regardless as the bubinga necks i have played have been nice... even if i never had the patience for it!!!

[ngaa]

Yeah, I think I would have the patience for it. Thanks for the information everyone, I'm looking forward to shaping this neck.

Josh.

[ToddW]

Yeah, I think I would have the patience for it. Thanks for the information everyone, I'm looking forward to shaping this neck.

Josh.

Files work, but I'd get a microplane. It'll save you a few hours.

On the plus side, it's hard to accidentally take off too much bubinga with my rasp because it cuts only a little faster than 80 grit sandpaper cuts hard maple

Hope to see how it looks when you finish!

Todd

[ngaa]

Yeah, I think I would have the patience for it. Thanks for the information everyone, I'm looking forward to shaping this neck.

Josh.

Files work, but I'd get a microplane. It'll save you a few hours.

On the plus side, it's hard to accidentally take off too much bubinga with my rasp because it cuts only a little faster than 80 grit sandpaper cuts hard maple

Hope to see how it looks when you finish!

Todd

Hm, what is the advantage of a microplane? To my experience they don't take off very much?

You ARE talking about this, right?

[ToddW]

That looks like it may be one of their cooking ones, but the woodworking ones are by the same company. Mine has a handle that lets me switch from flat to round "blades".

You're right, they don't take off much, but on a super hard wood like bubinga, I find they are MUCH faster than any of my rasps, including the ones with sharp teeth instead of serrations. That's only true, btw, cutting across the grain or at a diagonal. They are no faster than my course rasps cutting along the grain.

Hey, try the file. Maybe it'll work better than mine do, and if it's too frustratingly slow, splurge and try out a $12 course microplane. Either way, good luck.

-Todd

[Mattia]

No, that's the woodworking one.

My rasps are significantly faster, more agressive, and leave a smoother finish than the microplane I have, to the point that I hardly use the microplane any more. This is because I have decent quality hand-cut rasps (none of the machine-made stuff you can get at most hardware stores), like StewMac's Dragon rasps.

[fryovanni]

I prefer my rasps to microplanes. I have had several microplane rasp/file/plane type handles, and a microplane drum for years now. Everytime I grab one and start using it, I inevatably stop and go to a regular rasp/ hand plane/ spokeshave/ or sanding drum. They have just never done well for me, and I doubt I am using them wrong (they are pretty straight forward). They seem like such a good idea(obviously I bought a few, so they sold me on the idea), but they just never worked out for me .

[ToddW]

I prefer my rasps to microplanes. I have had several microplane rasp/file/plane type handles, and a microplane drum for years now. Everytime I grab one and start using it, I inevatably stop and go to a regular rasp/ hand plane/ spokeshave/ or sanding drum. They have just never done well for me, and I doubt I am using them wrong (they are pretty straight forward). They seem like such a good idea(obviously I bought a few, so they sold me on the idea), but they just never worked out for me .

Hey, that's cool. My microplanes are a little different than that but I'm sure they cut the same. I like them a lot for cutting across very hard woods, but switch to files later for a smoother finish.

LeeValley&Veritas has a lot of very nice files on their site at pretty good prices:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=...t=1&p=42524 Nice spokeshaves and planes too.

Regards,

Todd