My father told me he has some solid pieces of 100 year old mahogany. The pieces are 1" thick, and he thinks we should laminate and stack them together to form a body. I'm curious as to how would this work? Is mahogany a good body wood? Is laminating and stacking a bad idea? Thanks in advance guys.
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Question about wood..
- Thread starter RxFunk
- Start date
Yes its a good body wood, it would help if we knew the sizes of the pieces you have, but in general yes laminating is fine, you can mix it with other wood types to get nice contrasting effects. Have a look through some of the examples of builds on this site and you will see how some of these craftsmen do it. Lots of research is the best way.
- Aug 15, 2011
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Mahogany is a great body wood, and gluing two pieces together to get one thick piece (veneering) is not a problem. Your only down side MIGHT be Weight. Some veneer of a contrasting wood say, maple or something, in between the top and back would be a nice touch. Or a full top with a accent veneer. Go forth and have fun
Its 36"L 18"W 1"H. I'll keep on browsing through the LC, it's always inspiring to see what they can do. Thanks for the tip!
I actually hadn't thought about weight, that may be a problem. If the wood has a nice grain, I'll probably keep it plain, but if it doesn't, I'll see if he could get something to contrast from one of his coworkers. Thanks for your input!
- Aug 15, 2011
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If it is some of the heavy stuff, (the weight varies from piece to piece) you can always chamber it.
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Alembic and many other builders use Mahogany and I have owned several mahogany basses. Great wood for a bass.
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I believe so, I haven't seen them yet, so I can't say for sure, but I would be quite surprised if they didn't.
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Scott in Dallas
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You could always create a mahogany top on a lighter wood, which would allow you to create more than one instrument.
That's definitely an idea, but it's the only wood I for sure have access to to make a body from, so I think I'll keep it for the body wood. Thank you for your suggestion though!
Les Pauls have mahogany bodies,some two piece some one.Just be aware there are many many different kinds of mahogany with different qualities
This is true, my classical guitar is actually mahogany on the back and sides as well, which I didn't know until this morning.
