Massaranduba/Bulletwood neck laminate?

[Phil Jolly]

Greetings fellow TBers. I have designed and plan to build my own bass at some point in the future. I want to use a wenge through neck but want to make it very stiff/strong (high elastic strength). Has anyone used massaranduba in the past and would it work as a neck laminate? Thanks for your help, hopefully there will be a photo attached, i haven't got up to posting photos in the text yet, I'm new to this haha. I have done the CAD drawings on google sketchup if anyone wants an email of the file.
Cheers.

Edit: Forgot to mention, i want to make the neck very strong so i can make in thin

[Phil Jolly]

Additional stuff to interest you...





Woods:
Wenge + possible massaranduba laminate neck
Bubinga pommele body
cocobolo fretboard
light coloured wood stripes, maple or yellowheart or something

4 string, standard tuning
864mm scale length
Nordstrand big singles pickups
Aguilar OBP-3 preamp
Hipshot hardware (could possibly make my own bridge out of brass at Uni.

[Phil Jolly]

http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-...ds/bulletwood/

[FBB Custom]

I've never used massaranduba but obviously by its numbers it is quite stiff. Most here would agree that wenge is stiff enough to make a fine neck on its own.

I think in "going thin" you will reach the point where you have to worry about the truss rod pushing through the back of the neck before you reach the point where a neck of wenge an massaranduba neck is not stiff enough.

[Phil Jolly]

Thanks for the help, i've been sulking waiting for a reply haha. I was thinking it might be strong enough to have just the wenge but as i have never built a bass before i really have no clue
From an aesthetic point of view, i might go ahead and use the laminate depending on the cost but its nice to be assured that the neck will be sufficiently strong. I still need to do drawings of the profile and thickness of the fretboard.
Could i ask for your opinion on my design? Constructive criticism is always welcome. Thankyou for your reply,

[AltGrendel]

Originally Posted by Phil Jolly

Could i ask for your opinion on my design? Constructive criticism is always welcome. Thankyou for your reply,

I like it, kind of like a Ritter. When you start building, post pics.

[Big B.]

The wenge neck would be just fine by itself but the bulletwood certainly won't hurt anything. I also agree about the thickness being more about your trus rod than the wenge.

I think your design looks great but keep in mind with a bubinga body and wenge neck it could get quite heavy.

[MarthaSamira]

[octaedro7]

SR neck... Delicious!

[Phil Jolly]

Originally Posted by AltGrendel

I like it, kind of like a Ritter. When you start building, post pics.

Thankyou, i'll take that as a compliment I hope its not too much like a Ritter, i drew a few versions and then modified my favourite to make this one. As i'm not now or probably ever going to be a proper luthier haha, could i get away with this level of similarity? The designs were inspired by typical Fender, Cort artisan series, Carl Thompson and a few others.
When i build it (If i don't build it this summer it might be a while off haha) i will be sure to do a detailed blog of the process and its many mistakes

[David Pinton]

It's a favourite of mine




Fretboard too


Very hard and stiff, almost too hard for a fretless board...

[Phil Jolly]

Originally Posted by Big B.

The wenge neck would be just fine by itself but the bulletwood certainly won't hurt anything. I also agree about the thickness being more about your trus rod than the wenge.

I think your design looks great but keep in mind with a bubinga body and wenge neck it could get quite heavy.

Thankyou sir! I'm honored to receive a reply from you, I've been admiring your work for a while now
I think i will go ahead and use the laminate if its reasonably priced. I might have to buy a decking board and plane it down to the right thickness because that is the main use of the wood.
I need to do some sketches of the profile and thickness still, i need dimensions of the truss rod too.
You're right about the weight thing too, all the woods are pretty dense:
Bubinga 800 to 950 kg/m3,
Cocobolo 1000 to 1100 kg/m3
wenge 910 kg/m3
Bulletwood 1060 kg/m3.

Thankyou for your replies guys, it means a lot

[Phil Jolly]

That SR neck looks great, and David, lovely work. What's it like to work with? Also where would be the best place to buy it? Cheers

[David Pinton]

Sorry to reply so late...
I bought it as decking boards.
It's a bit hard to work with : it dulls the power tools and is prone to tear out with hand tools. The curly pieces are especially difficult to plane without taking chips out, evenmoreso on a quartersawn surface. The dust is a bit irritating too.
It sand very well and polishes nicely.
In my limited experience it is almost impossible to bend (headstock back laminate over a volute was a real pain).