Amer'can

[Tweed]

Are any of the Play-It-Raw woods harvested in the USA?
I've had an interesting dream of doing a six-string salute from W.

 

[dNA]

Not that i know of. Some people say you can leave maple unfinished. others strongly disagree. I imagine this debate will proceed as such in your thread


you can always go for an oil finish that's not thick or glossy like other finishes. they may not be good for the warranty, but the feel is great. A walnut neck done in linseed or tung oil would probably be awesome

 

[line6man]

I just went down Warmoth's neck woods list, and none of the woods that can be played raw are domestic.

I can't think of a domestic wood off-hand that would be suitable to be played raw, either.

 

[Cagey]

Looking for a list of native NA hardwoods, I found this...

ash | aspen | beech | basswood | birch | black cherry | black walnut/butternut | buckeye | American chestnut | cottonwood | dogwood | elm | hackberry | hickory | holly | locust | magnolia | maple | oak | poplar | red alder | redbud | royal paulownia | sassafras | sweetgum | sycamore | tupelo | willow | yellow-poplar

There are links to all those species that take you to descriptions of the lumber obtained here.

Outside of maple, those aren't neck woods. Just checking a few, it seems they don't have the stiffness that hard woods from more tropical climates do. Cherry, for instance, would seem like a great neckwood. But, it bends too easy. Not that it's easy to bend, just too easy for a neck.

 

[m4rk0]

there is a guy in Texas who makes necks out of Texas Ebony and Texas Ziricote.

you could always go for bocote or ziricote from Mexico.. close enough (to texas anyway)

 

[B3Guy]

I can't think of a domestic wood off-hand that would be suitable to be played raw, either.

yeah, American wood is best when protected.

 

[bbl4ck]

you could always go for bocote or ziricote from Mexico.. close enough (to texas anyway)

I have seen some really beautiful necks made of Bocote! 
I would buy one of those in a heartbeat, if you can find one...  Not many out there that I have seen.

 

[line6man]

there is a guy in Texas who makes necks out of Texas Ebony and Texas Ziricote.

you could always go for bocote or ziricote from Mexico.. close enough (to texas anyway)

Wood from Mexico, or any part of South America is American...

 

[Tweed]

That really makes me wonder how Amerigo Vespucci wrangled his way into have an entire hemisphere named after himself!
:icon_jokercolor:

 

[Cagey]

History is written by the victors.

 

[AGWAN]

History is written by the victors.

Yeah which is why I live in Von Doom, in the country of Frankensteinia.

 

[swarfrat]

I don't know the specs, but Hickory and Locust are both hard as nails, but I believe Hickory isn't as stiff as maple.

 

[Cagey]

Hickory is much more springy than maple. You'd have a helluva time keeping an instrument in tune if you used it to make a neck. You could make bodies out of it, but it's heavier than maple, which is already too heavy for bodies. Plus, like maple, it wants to move on you.

Locust is tough to work and pretty inconsistent.

 

[partialdoctor]

I can't think of a domestic wood off-hand that would be suitable to be played raw, either.

yeah, American wood is best when protected.

For population control?

 

[Superlizard]

A fully American guitar?  Surely you would offend people here with that.

You should stick to woods from a non-offensive nation... such as Leichtenstein or Vanuatu.

 

[OzziePete]

I understand the odour from the Arizonian Oro Valley Fruit Tree is pretty pungent...Can you clarify?

Some hippie liberal dude singin'

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhdiSqt6sXE[/youtube]

Not so liberal....
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVlMH8b7pYY[/youtube]

 

[DangerousR6]

Looking for a list of native NA hardwoods, I found this...

ash | aspen | beech | basswood | birch | black cherry | black walnut/butternut | buckeye | American chestnut | cottonwood | dogwood | elm | hackberry | hickory | holly | locust | magnolia | maple | oak | poplar | red alder | redbud | royal paulownia | sassafras | sweetgum | sycamore | tupelo | willow | yellow-poplar

There are links to all those species that take you to descriptions of the lumber obtained here.

Outside of maple, those aren't neck woods. Just checking a few, it seems they don't have the stiffness that hard woods from more tropical climates do. Cherry, for instance, would seem like a great neckwood. But, it bends too easy. Not that it's easy to bend, just too easy for a neck.

Warmoth does make cherry necks, but it's gotta have a finish, but hickory is plenty hard enough to use as a neck. Hickory is close to 2000 on the janka scale, cherry is under 1000. American beech is around 1500, so it's possible it would be fine to. I've said in many threads I have several BE maple necks with no finish, just a light lemon oiling, and they're still straight as an arrow..

 

[OzziePete]

What wood is used for rifle stocks? That would have to be pretty strong for some of the recoil they cop and also resilient enough not to warp or shrink under hard weather conditions.

 

[DangerousR6]

What wood is used for rifle stocks? That would have to be pretty strong for some of the recoil they cop and also resilient enough not to warp or shrink under hard weather conditions.

Most common would be walnut and maple...

 

[Cagey]

Warmoth does make cherry necks, but it's gotta have a finish, but hickory is plenty hard enough to use as a neck. Hickory is close to 2000 on the janka scale, cherry is under 1000. American beech is around 1500, so it's possible it would be fine to. I've said in many threads I have several BE maple necks with no finish, just a light lemon oiling, and they're still straight as an arrow..

It's not the hardness or stability that's the problem; they're very hard woods. It's the torsional strength (stiffness). They're too springy. You'd probably have a bitch of a time keeping them in tune. I suspect that's why you don't see anyone using those woods for necks.