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Oak bass neck.

#42
Mikey R said:
Also, Ive read that all oaks react with iron and steel, so you may need to be careful what you screw into it:

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EDIt: bear in mind that the info on the JBT site sometimes doesnt tally with other peoples experience, but on thw whole it tends to be accurate especially for British species.
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Right- ferrous metals and tannic acid react. I worked for a lumber company and my hands were purple all summer from cutting Oak for a railroad repair yard.

If you want to dye the Oak, put some nails/screws and other steel/iron in a glass jar and cover the pieces with vinegar. Steel wool works, too. Once it has soaked for a week, or so, wet a rag and wipe a scrap of Oak to see how dark it turns. You can dilute it with water if it turns too dark and if it's not dark enough, wipe it again. If it's still not dark enough, let it soak longer.

This is a very old method of coloring Oak and it works well.
 
#43
O.K., with green oak or water-soaked oak, you will get a blue or black stain when in contact with metal. It's not a problem with dry oak which is what you'd use in an instrument. And most white and red oak don't smell bad when cut. Blackjack and some black oak (species in the red oak family) definitely do smell odd. Paste filler is used to level the pores of oak when finishing. Some day I'm going to use oak to build a bass, as I have thousands of board feet stacked in my shed and have built a house and lots of other things from it.
 
#45
oak takes for ever to cure and dry. It frequently develops cracks in the process.
It's a hell of a problem with oak floors for example, probably could be with an instrument too. It is also very difficult to work with it because it's so dense.
Once cured it is stable so if you have a nice piece of oak you're fine. On a wide scale it wouldn't be economically viable.
 
#46
vbasscustom said:
yeah, and it stinks like crap when you cut it, or at least when i cut it does:hmm:
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There are many kinds of oak trees. I grew up in rural NC. Where I come from the ones that stink are called cat $*** oaks. Ha! They stink in the fireplace as well. Most people will reserve those for burning in shops with lots of ventilation or perhaps a bonfire. If I remember correctly, it is one of the red oaks. And they look exactly like the ones that don't stink.

To the OP, the smell NEVER goes away. So, literally SMELL the wood before you use it.

I have seen older people put rocking chairs in a fire because they smelled decades after they were made. If your cat um.... cat crap oak gets moist, and then you take it into a dry room, the smell will be more pronounced. (What a stupid thing to be an expert on. Oy.)
 
#47
#52
I suspect swamp ash is lighter than what is usually given as the average weight of ash. Not a species, swamp ash is the lumber selected from the milling of ash logs based primarily on weight (less than 3 pounds per board foot - 1"X12"X12"). The trees from which this comes usually grow in moist, humid environments in the southern USA (like swamps).
 
#53
It seems to me that the only reason that Oak isn't used for instruments is the difficulty in the woodworking (which is simply laziness if you ask me) and the fact that the grain is quite open and doesn't respond to a heavy finish. Now I have to get a custom bass with an oak top with a dark stain, just so I get the uniqueness vote.
 
#57
I have built 150+ guitars ..... all with red oak necks.
Red Oak is stronger than white.
As far as the grain is concerned .... it can look great as long as you pay attention to the way it runs, and don't go too fine on the sanding .... I only go to a 150 grit.
I also have a VERY simple finish and technique that adds a bit of color to the natural color and brings out the grain. It also allows for the 150 grit sanding. ( I won't tell tho' .... one of only 2 "trade secrets" I have.)
I have also never had any of my instruments come back for neck problems.
And I've never seen a glue seam turn green, in fact, with a bit of careful positioning mine are invisible.
If it smells when you cut it .... it's to wet.

The biggest problem come from grain orientation if you choose not to use a fretboard ... you can get grain "chunking" at the edges.


Matt
 
#58
I just noticed that this thread came back from the dead... and looking back at my original ideologies, things have changed a great bit! I can't get over how different I look at things now.

As for the use of oak in a bass neck, I'm still into the idea and will be using it again soon. The only problem is the open grain and splinters. Other than that, it's wonderful stuff.

-Ron
 
#60
fuNKmaster83 said:
one thing about oak needs to be taken in consideration... oak contains toxins that are not good for the human body to be in contact with at least not much... so if you are leaving it with out hard finish it might cause some problems if you are sensitive to those toxins...
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Please provide a source for this assertion.

My research has turned up that allergic reactions to oak are rare; are of moderate severity; and are generally caused by fungal matter in the bark, not by the wood. I have never found a mention of toxins in oak. It does not appear to be a species that self-protects by producing toxins, as many tropical species do.
 

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