Plum neck?

[MostroDB]

Dear all,

I happen to have a nice piece of plum wood, and I was wondering if anybody would have advice if this wood is suitable for cutting a neck (+scroll +heel) for a double bass from. The wood is beautifully coloured, dense, and very fine-grained. On working the wood I had the impression that the physical properties are not dissimilar to those of hard maple. On tapping it, the sound is bright & loud. There are unfortunately no flames.

Does anyone have any advice on using it for a neck?

Many thanks, Koen.

[fuNKmaster83]

i have plenty of plum... i guess no one has more plum wood on storage than me...

i use it in place of exotic woods such as ebony and rosewood... its a lot heavier and denser than maple...

if you have it nice and straight you could build a neck out of... but consider the weight!!!

i mainly have it for fingerboards, nuts and accents stripes for body's (i am planning to build a neck out of it also)... i have one body made out of only plum and its heavy like hell...

[Meatrus]

Nice idea, I have always wanted to do it! Go for it! They used to use on for fingerboards on Lutes.

[MostroDB]

Thanks guys!

Particularly thanks for the hint on weight - it's indeed probably heavier than maple. For a double bass weight is probably less of an issue (as you don't have to carry it while playing), but I will consider it.

And then using it for the fingerboard is also an option.

[MostroDB]

By now I've taken off all the bark, cut it into suitable lengths and quarter-cut it lengthwise into suitable pieces. It's too small for a DB neck, and it probably indeed is too heavy for a BG neck (which would make for a poorly balanced instrument, unless you make the body heavy too).

It is still beautiful & hard wood, I'll find other purposes for it, in due time (when fully dried).

Thanks for all advice,
Koen.

[FBB Custom]

People make wenge necks, why not plum?

Also, let's see some pics!