Mahogany as a neck wood

[Jisch]

I have a nice piece of mahogany to use as a bolt-on neck for a four string 34" scale bass - it's rough hewn, so I'd need to clean up the sides, but it's pretty straight end to end. It's not quartersawn so I was thinking about bookmatching this to make it stronger.

this is a cross section I cut off the wood, the top part of the wood would be where the ebony fret board would get attached (just for reference).

Would you bookmatch this or just carve the neck out of it as is?

Thanks!

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

You really can't lose either way.

 

[Beej]

So is that end grain we're looking at? If so, then I'd personally be ripping it into at least four pieces and running them so the grain counteracts itself. Others might not worry about it, but I like multi-lam necks for my own perceived stability.

So take this: ////////////
Rip it and glue it up to make this: \\\///\\\///

 

[Jisch]

Yes that's end grain. Hmm I was just going to cut it once.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

Yes that's end grain. Hmm I was just going to cut it once.

Bear in mind each cut will end up losing material, and not just from the cut. The planing will claim some meat as well.

 

[Jisch]

Right, I need to do some measuring. I do like that idea of four pieces.

 

[FBB Custom]

I'd bookmatch it and put 1/4"-1/2" of something stiff (probably jatoba) in between. Maybe sandwich the jatoba in maple veneer for contrast, strictly aesthetic.
Probably fine without the center laminate but I like a stiff neck. Just my 2 cents.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

I made a 1-piece 4-string neck from mahogany with 1 double-action truss rod and 2 carbon fiber stiffener rods (pultruded type) from LMII. It is quite stiff and stable.

I wouldn't worry about the jatoba core or anything like that.

 

[Jisch]

I do have some carbon fiber rods from a build I never started. I'm really wavering here, usually I study something for a bit and make a decision pretty easily, I like the idea of a one piece neck as much as the idea of a four piece neck using the one piece of wood. I won't get time to start on this for another couple weeks, so there's plenty of time to obsess, I mean think, about this.

If I could ask for opinions, can I make a one piece neck using the mahogany without stiffeners or are those a "must" if I use this wood without any bookmatching?

 

[mansjasont]

Why do 4 piece?? I am by no means an expert but wouldn't just doing 2 piece be sufficient? Turn this: \\\\\\\\\\ into this://///\\\\\... thats what I would do in this situation

 

[Jisch]

The four piece would just be aesthetics, but after measuring I don't think there is enough wood here to do that. I'm going to do either a two or one piece. I'm going to clean up the wood first, look at the grain and make a decision then.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

The two piece would provide nicer aesthetics, although that could be argued - it's a personal thing. It would also provide some extra stability, but it's not necessary. The stiffeners are also not required, but I assume you would be installing a truss rod. I strongly suggest a two way truss rod.

 

[Jisch]

Yes, I have a two way truss rod to install, thanks for the input, much appreciated!

 

[gsnad2000]

Relating to mahogany necks....are all mahoganies somewhat equal when it comes to neck building? I'm thinking of making a couple mahogany necks for short scale travel basses. I see African and Honduran, maybe others as well for sale at the wood supplier.

 

[Jisch]

I don't even know what kind this is. It seems to have good grain lines from the one end grain cut I did.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

African is a touch heavier and has a visibly more coarse grain. Honduran is much finer, and usually lighter in both weight and color. Both will darken with time.

As for working with them, I prefer Honduran any day of the week. It is very stiff for its weight and a dream to work with hand tools and power tools. African is easy to work too, but has a greater tendency to chip and tear, in my experience.

 

[GBassNorth]

I vote two piece mahogany with a highly figured rock maple center stripe. The visual contrast between the darker mahogany and lighter maple would be beautiful and the second type of wood and grain differences would add significant strength.

 

[FBB Custom]

In my experience African is a lot more likely to move after cutting. I'd stick with Honduran if you're going to make a "mahogany" neck (African mahogany is not a true mahogany).

 

[bolophonic]

Slightly OT, but I worked on a big African Mahogany project in a shop and found out the hard way that exposure can lead to anaphylactic shock. Be careful!

 

[Jisch]

I am not nearly careful enough with wood dust, I need to get a mask. I had a pretty bad reaction when sanding down my last ebony fretboard, nothing close to anaphylactic shock, but it was irritating.