walnut neck?

[J Gold]

I'm curious as to thoughts on the long-term durability of a walnut neck. Is it as firm as a good maple neck?

Is it better with a standard gloss finish or an oil finish?


Thanks!

 

[Musiclogic]

This is a build I am doing for a friend/customer, it is a revival of a design I did back in the late 80's for a Japanese company as a prototype. the Original build was completed almost 25 years ago, and is still played daily by the owner of the company, and the Walnut neck is still performing perfectly.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f57/jjs-4-build-tber-mike-phillips-762955/

I know Fender and Gibson both did Walnut necks in the 60's/70's that are still in use today.

Walnut is very similar to Soft Maple(which isn't really soft...LOL), and harder than Mahogany which Gibson has used for necks for decades. It's is very reliable and durable when the proper grain orientation is applied.

As fo finish, Walnut is a bit grainy, so either a slurry fill with the oil finish will help to smooth the finish, or a fill and seal with a hard lacquer or poly finish will be great. Both hard and oil finishes work well with Walnut when applied properly.

 

[J Gold]

thanks!

 

[tjclem]

"a slurry fill with the oil finish will help to smooth the finish" Love Walnut necks treated this way