Official Luthiers Forum!

I know most likely what the answer will be.....but I would like to know if any of you would or do use flat sawn lumber in neck construction? I'm thinking of making a neck from flat sawn Honduras Mahogany along with carbon fiber for reinforcement. What would you do?

Thanks,
Jeff

I think it has been pretty much been decided that flatsawn mahogany is as strong and stable as quartersawn. Throw in some CF and you'll be fine. Fender has used flatsawn maple in their necks since day one. Ervin S. had an interesting article in GAL sometime back showing his testing results with flatsawn vs quartersawn spruce. Some flatsawn pieces were actually stronger.

_________________
It's not the miles ahead, it's the stone in your shoe


In Markham,Virginia

Laminate and it will become quartersawn. Magic!

_________________
Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

I do exactly what Howard says. I laminate flat sawn and it's then quartered. The trouble is, it's even getting hard to find straight flat sawn wood these days.

_________________
Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Woods from the Mahogany & Cedar families are some of the most stable woods there are if used when dry.

Add Carbon Fiber & it's an incredible neck!

Do you mean Epoxy Graphite?

Mike

_________________
Mike Collins

Stew mac carbon rods.

And possibly stronger too. I always laminate flat sawn necks.

I also laminate flatsawn for my necks using a method similar to what our friend John Mayes shows in his video. Roger Siminoff (from "The Luthier's Handbook") has also done deflection tests showing flatsawn boards to actually be stronger than quartersawn.

Chuck

_________________
"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong"
- Joseph Chilton Pearce