Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates on March 11, 2011 at 12:43am

Bubinga. Nah use whatever you can get tho poplar might be a little soft.

-wy

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on March 11, 2011 at 1:04am

I'd use the oak if you've got it./.I use it a lot..but then again I'm working my way thru' half a ton of the stuff.

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Permalink Reply by Kenny on March 14, 2011 at 3:46pm

I am almost finished with my second build, i used poplar for the neck and red oak for the fret board. I stained the fretboard but left the neck natural. It turned out pretty nice.

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Permalink Reply by Habanera Hal on March 15, 2011 at 8:35am

IMHO, poplar doesn't have as nice a grain as other hardwoods.  Red oak is nice but has an open grain that needs to be filled to get a nice smooth finish.

On my first build, I just used maple for the neck/board (no seperate fretboard) with a tung oil finish and it came out okay.  My second is using a maple neck lacquered black with a 1/4" Padauk fretboard, and it looks stunning.  The third one is for my supervisor at work which is again a maple neck but with 1/16" cherry laminated to it.  Thinking about toothpick frets for it.

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Permalink Reply by Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) on March 15, 2011 at 10:29am

Poplar will work but will get shabby as hell over time with heavy play.  Actually, that is true for any light colored wood.  All the oils and dirt in your fingers, you know.  If you want to keep your FB looking clean and tight over time add some coats of lacquer to it.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on March 15, 2011 at 10:40am

Go with the red oak.

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