Walnut as a neck wood?

I don't believe I have ever seen walnut used as a neck wood except perhaps as part of a multi-piece neck along with a more traditional neck wood.

I think for the most part walnut is used for laminate tops.


EDIT:

Well I just got proved wrong.

http://www.warmoth.com/bass/necks/necks.cfm?fuseaction=guitar_neckwoods

It looks warmoth will make the neck back out of walnut.


I would however recommend reinforcing it with carbon or steel rods.

 

Good to see more norn irons on the board!
you can use walnut for a neck:
http://www3.alembic.com/img/inst/13401_heelL.jpg
but it will need to be reinforced either with some strips of something more rigid like purpleheart, wenge or ebony, or by installing steel or carbon fibre rods along side the trussrod.
good luck with everything

 

Walnut worked great for me.

http://www.clementbass.com/bass36/36 full front.jpg

I will be using more of it.I don't think I would use it for a 5 or 6 string without additional help though.

 

Be very careful that you don't make a walnut neck that is too stiff. Myself and at least one other builder on here have built walnut necks that were way too stiff for proper adjustment. Mine had ONLY a shop-made trussrod in it and I had to force clamp that bugger into shape over a period of a couple of months. My neck was three long pieces with the grain oriented to vertical and an ebony fingerboard. The bass was a 35" scale and the active portion of the neck is longer than most any you see. I used a 2 piece, single action trussrod. You can see pics on my website. I would use walnut again in an instant.

Besides, haven't you ever seen a Walnut Fender Precision? They are simply fabulous instruments:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-Walnut-P...4QQihZ013QQcategoryZ64401QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Also, don't get excited about Warmoth and walnut. I've queried them and they won't build a bass neck from the stuff for reasons that are simply wrong. They will build a guitar neck but that's all.

 

I am doing a 1 piece Walnut neck next. The grain is perfectly 1/4 sawn I just have to give it a go.t

 

Good info guys. I have a big piece of walnut in my garage that is just barely too narrow for a two piece body. I hadn't even really considered it for a neck. I'm thinking it will make a great piece for trying out my first fretted neck.

 

you don't have to use Carbon Fiber rods unless you are doing a 6 string or more with a single truss rod. Walnut is stronger than mahogany, and Mahogany has been used for necks for decades. I would suggest a 3 piece laminate with good grain orientation, but with a descent fretboard, you should be fine.

 

Mahogany has been used for guitar necks of course, but not much if at all for bass necks.

Walnut though is also used a a main component by Carvin and Peavey, beyond those mentioned above.

 

Love mahogany for my bass necks.....but that may just be me......t

 

One of my basses has mahogany neck. It moves alot when humidity changes but sounds good.

Back on topic: walnut works very well with the hand tools, chisels and hand planes...

 

I made a 5-string with flatsawn walnut, 1 piece, and I haven't had any problems, 3 years later.

 

I had a Rob Allen MB-2 5 that had a walnut neck. The I really didn't notice it being any different from maple in properties (stiffness, humidity response, etc). I can't see why walnut would have to have reinforcement to be usable.

 

The Black Walnut, common in North America, is IMO better suited for necks than maple. OK, IK'm biased from a bunch of low spec maple necks, but facts include that Black Walnut is almost as stiff as Sugare Maple and noticable stiffer than Black Maple!

However, European Walnut is much less stiff! 15-20% less!
From that I conclude that Hambones lyrical praise to the stiffness needs to be taken with some hesitation.

Still: with well quartersawn European Walnut, you can make a decent neck!
I would put in some reinforcements, though, esp. in the heel part of a bass, perhaps not in a guitar. Leave the first 6 frets as is, reinforce the rest... with steel strips... Yeah, I guess that would be my approach. (Or rather, use it as centerlam with downy birch.)

 

Black walnut has an MOE (stiffness) of 1.68 Mpsi, while sugar maple is 1.83 Mpsi, 9% higher. Of course individual boards vary.

Walnut, however, has less shrinkage during drying, and hence is potentially more stable.

 

Great I didn't realize it ws that stiff...t

 

.....and as a sidebar....Walnut is a wonderfully easy wood to work with, although it does require some filling to get a nice glassy finish on it.

 

I've made a couple M/W/M/W/M necks of late that utilized Black Walnut running quartersawn. I like the way that they added tonal richness when contrasted to a 3-pc maple neck constructed from the same rough board of maple.

definitely a little more grain filler work to be done

and definitely a wood that you can carve with ease providing your tools are sharp

didn't really care foe the smell when sawing and drum sanding ... but definitely not as bad as Gongalo Alves (did a cat pee in here some place?)

all the best,

R

 

I don't grain fill on necks I like the look and feel of open grain. I agree it is nice wood to work with.