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  1. #1
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    Mar 2014
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    Loch, Gippsland, Victoria, Australia
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    Question New Guinea Rosewood for guitar neck?

    I was given a nice piece of this rosewood and considered it for making a guitar neck, but I have no experience with the wood and so I'm hesitant to use it. It seems hard enough and flexible enough, but some comments on the structural integrity would be appreciated. For example does it tend to twist or move over time? Does it resist splitting like its Indian cousin?

    Maybe I should ask this question in the wood section but I just wanted to see if anyone had instrument specific advice first. Cheers!

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  3. #2
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    Sep 2002
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    Minbun, FNQ, Australia
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    Interested to hear the answers, I have some too.

    I used a couple of pieces for fretboards on a couple of Cigar Box Guitars, good to work with.
    Cliff.
    If you find a post of mine that is missing a pic that you'd like to see, let me know & I'll see if I can find a copy.

  4. #3
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    Sep 2008
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    Wongawallan, SE Qld
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    I don't know if it makes much difference with guitar necks, but I've used NG rosewood for a kitchen bench and have noticed that it does move a bit between the wet and dry weather. It may not be an issue as a neck, but I made the mistake of thinking it was quite stable and framed the bench with rosewood, the problem being the different radial and tangential movements cause the side frames to push the end frames away when it dries out, leaving about a 3mm gap. along the framed edge.

  5. #4
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    Jul 2013
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    Lower Blue Mountains
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    It's fine for guitar necks and bass with the addition of carbon fibre rods either side of the truss rod. Best if quarter sawn. Also can be strengthened by jarrah or maple laminating.

  6. #5
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    May 2011
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    Mangrove Mountain
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    Can't add too much to what's already been said but the piece i used (laminated neck) had deep and long pores and took some filling.

    Steve

  7. #6
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    Yup, it can be a bit porous.
    Cliff.
    If you find a post of mine that is missing a pic that you'd like to see, let me know & I'll see if I can find a copy.

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Caves Beach, NSW
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    I've used it on 4 necks and will so again, as long as I have nice clear pieces.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Loch, Gippsland, Victoria, Australia
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    Thanks for the insightful replies fellas. Sorry I took a week to get back on, I'll have to change my control panel to get email notification.

    Anyway I went ahead and made the neck and at first glance it seems to be pretty good. I can't find the lead for my camera/phone right now so I'll upload some pics tomorrow.

    I consider this an "experimental" neck which I'll put on a build I'm doing for my 10 y-o cousin Jimmy. He's been really good at school getting good marks, which he wasn't last year, so he has made a huge effort to drag himself up into being successful, and I am proud of him (so you can imagine how his parents feel). His dad takes him to archery club and apparently he's one of the best shots there. He has also been practicing guitar on an old, cheap and nasty acoustic, so I told him if he does well at school and practices guitar consistently I will build him a Strat-style guitar - nothing like a bit of incentive I reckon.

    The way I see it is a hyperactive 10 y-o will put the NG rosewood neck to the test, if it warps or goes bad I'll just replace it with something better like hard maple. I didn't bother using carbon fibre support rods because I wanted to see how well the timber performs on its own, with a 2-way truss rod in it of course (thanks for the suggestion Scuzyboy, if this one doesn't work out I'll use the carbon rods in future).

    I also made a Tele-style neck out of this amazing looking bit of fiddleback spotted gum I found in the rack at Tait's timber. I went right through the rack and it was the only piece with the fiddle. I know nothing about that timber's properties either, so it's another "experimental" neck which will be put to the test by Dave the guitarist in my brother's band.

    It too seems strong enough but I worry about kiln dried wood moving. It's been in my shed for quite a few months now so I'm hoping it has stabilised... but that's for another thread... seeya tomorrow with some pics if I can find that damn USB cord.

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Sydney
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    I've used NG Rosewood (not a true rosewood as I understand it BTW) for a neck in the past. Used a quartersawn piece witha 2 way truss rod. It's a great neck and very stable.

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Loch, Gippsland, Victoria, Australia
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    14

    Lightbulb Pics

    Here are the promised photos. As you can see the spotted gum tore out quite a bit in the thicknesser. I wish I could afford spiral cutters but such is life. A slight bit of tear out on the NG rosewood, maybe my blades need sharpening? The headstocks will be routed down to 14mm which will get rid of the tear out, the backs will be filed to shape which will cure it there, tear out on the face where the fret board goes on will hopefully provide extra grip for the glue I'll do them today and upload pics later. I just hope the fiddleback in the spotted gum doesn't prove to be a structural weakness.

    I am trying to steer away from imported timber such as maple (which has proved itself over many decades) and focus more on Aussie woods. Trouble is birdseye and flame maple are so beautiful it's difficult to leave them alone. Anyway if these two necks prove themselves I think the time and effort will be well worth it. I can get more of the NG rosewood but tracking down more fiddleback spotted gum might be difficult. Structural integrity is paramount but if a bit of wood can look beautiful whilst doing its job so much the better.

    Seeya in the shed,
    Jess.

    P.S. Well the New Guinea Rosewood isn't exactly Aussie but it's pretty close
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