dpm99 Posted August 21, 2011 Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 Has anybody ever tried to put together a laminate neck made of pieces that don't require finishes, like rosewoods, bubinga, wenge, Goncalo Alves, and the like? Once I put a Teak skunk stripe in a Rosewood neck, and it held together pretty well, but now I'm thinking of building a 5 piece laminated neck out of wenge and bubinga, and if they join well, I can't imagine why I might need to put a finish on it. Plus, the mixing of the natural oils between two species may create a checimal synergy that increases my mojo! Anybody ever tried an unfinished laminate neck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 Yea iv done it a few times with rosewood/bubinga. rosewwood/ ebony, ebony wenge. all with ebony fret boards. First attempt (rose & bubinga) did not go so well. I think the oils in the timbers were a little excessive so there were problems gluing & it developed a split - then twisted. But iv done 4 since that one & they were all fine. although I did put 3 coats of danish oil on 2 of them with 000 steel wool. very light finish but a finish none the less. the 2 unfinished ones just got lem oil. fretboard treatment oil, & they played just as well. I would point out that all of these necks were very heavy. personaly they would piss me off with the imbalance they can cause with a light body. but thats no reason not to give it a go. just try leech a little of the oil from them before you glue them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linny Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 If the woods you use are a bit oily then you can use epoxy to glue them together, not the 5 min stuff but proper marine epoxy like West system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted August 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 Good advice, guys. Thanks. I'm currently working on a bubinga neck that was originally rift sawn, so I ripped it and flipped it. Didn't really think much about the oils, but it's held together pretty well with Titebond for about a month now. Time will test it. Incidentally, the rosewood/teak neck I built years ago was glued up with Titebond, and it hasn't had a problem in the 2-3 years I've had it. All the same, I think I'll use epoxy in the future. Probably safer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted August 24, 2011 Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 My current build has a Goncarlo Alves and Wenge lam neck. I clean it with Methonol first to remove the oils and then glue with Polyurathane 30minute glue. They dont need to be lacquered but I do apply Danish Oil to make then silky smooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted August 25, 2011 Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 Stay away from polyurethane glue I am not going to explain anything it has been covered to death. I have used Titebond on every neck I have built for the past 5 years. Even on cocobolo and other oily woods. Always use fresh glue and glue fresh sanded wood it eliminates a lot of issues. The only oily wood I use is cocobolo. I have found that using Acetone to clean the wood before gluing can actually pull the oils to the surface. Your mileage may vary on this. I have had to wipe pieces three or four times before I felt it was clean enough to glue. I have had plenty of luck just gluing the fresh sanded cocobolo. edit: Just remembered... It is very common to get Cocobolo or Bocote that is not completely dried or seasoned correctly. I never use a piece of yucatan wood until it has been in the shop (stickerd) for a year. +1 West Systems Epoxy (System Three works great as well) If you don't want to invest in West Systems and do all the measuring I (and a few other guys) have had good experience with System Three T-88. As for laminates that need no finish. Here are some suggestions. Padauk + Ebony (or Rosewood/Cocobolo/Bocote/Bloodwood) Zebrawood + Ebony (or Rosewood/Cocobolo/Bocote/Bloodwood) Wenge + Padauk (Mr_Buttman did that then painted it!) Zebrawood + Wenge You get the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted August 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 Padauk + Ebony (or Rosewood/Cocobolo/Bocote/Bloodwood) Zebrawood + Ebony (or Rosewood/Cocobolo/Bocote/Bloodwood) Wenge + Padauk (Mr_Buttman did that then painted it!) Zebrawood + Wenge If you can trust Warmoth, there's also Bubinga, Canary, Goncalo Alves, Purpleheart, and a number of other Rosewoods, including the ever popular Pau Ferro, Ziricote, and...is Kingwood a Rosewood? I think it is. Obviously, there are more as well. I've heard mixed reports on using Acetone to pull oils out of oily woods before gluing. My approach has always been just to plane and glue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvteles Posted August 25, 2011 Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 I ment to say Tightbond original. I had just emailed something about Polyurathane and it was on my mind. Tightbond not Poly but I still clean the surface with meths first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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