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Mahogany Neck? Is this a good idea?

Posted by Jim Wood on February 15, 2014 at 9:32pm in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

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I was at the hardwoods store today and found this great mahogany board! There's got to be at least two CBG necks in there!

...Wait. I've only ever used nice, hard maple. I know mahogany is well known for it's tone, but is it hard enough for a neck?

Maybe I'll finally try making and using a fretboard from a harder wood... That should give it some support, right?

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Replies

  • Ice Bob February 16, 2014 at 8:34pm

    this ones mahogany stays in tune ship wreck drift wood 306243253?profile=original

  • Ron "Oily" Sprague February 16, 2014 at 9:11am
    I've got several commercial gits with mahogany necks, including my 914ce Taylor Grand Auditorium and both Ovations. Yes, they all have truss rods, one of them being a 12-string. I think mahogany will hold up just fine.

    And, BTW, your last name IS Wood, ain't it? Go fer it, sez I.
  • Michael Fred Johnson February 16, 2014 at 7:16am

    Mahogany is great for necks,straight grained and easy to work.Add a maple or sycamore fingerboard for a nice contrast.

  • Slowpaw Steve T February 16, 2014 at 3:18am

    Almost any hardwood should be good for making necks, esp. mahogany, lucky find gfi ! (-:

  • Manny Lopez February 16, 2014 at 1:42am
    Mahogany CBG neck would be very sweet. Do it.
  • Bruce Myers February 16, 2014 at 1:39am

    Jim, Mahogany is a very good wood for neck material, lots of brand name guitar makers use it. Your idea of using a harder/stronger wood for the fretboard can only make it better.

  • Rand Moore February 16, 2014 at 1:03am

    I don't know about 6-stringers, but mahogany should be plenty hard enough for 3- and 4-stringers. I've used cherry wood, and I think mahogany is harder. I've used mahogany for fretboards, so I have at least some idea about the relative hardness of the two woods. I also have used pine for necks. Pine is definitely softer than mahogany. The main down side to soft pine is that it's so easy to ding up. But several coats of polyurethane can help protect the surface.

    Another thing you could try is to slice up your mahogany (assuming you have access to a good table saw), and do the same for a contrasting colored wood (like maple) and then laminate them together using alternate colored woods. The result is usually very pretty and these laminated necks tend to be stronger than those made from just one piece of wood. But there are some rules you need to remember to do to maximize the strength. First, flip each alternate board around so that the grain alternates. Looking from the end of the board, you will see the grains curve one way -- make each board in the stack alternate in end-grain curvature. The second thing to do is to orient the finished laminated board (the "neck blank") such that the separate boards are standing on their sides (i.e vertically oriented, rather than horizontally oriented). Doing these two "tricks" will strengthen your neck considerably.

    -Rand.

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