Merbau/Kwila for guitar neck?

[Humphrey9999]

Has anyone used Merbau for a neck on a 6-string accoustic/electric? (I'll be adding a truss rod.)
Great-looking, and I'll be using some on the body, but am tossing up whether to make the neck from straight Merbau, or to laminate.
Using NGR for the fretboard.

[Ball Peen]

I use Kwila for one piece necks on my basses. It has a very good tap tone , is very strong and not brittle. Early on I didn't use reinforcement ( no problems ) but now use cf in one piece and laminated Maple necks.

Some NGR can be soft, get a piece hard enough to hold a fret and ware well.

[Humphrey9999]

I use Kwila for one piece necks on my basses. It has a very good tap tone , is very strong and not brittle. Early on I didn't use reinforcement ( no problems ) but now use cf in one piece and laminated Maple necks.

Some NGR can be soft, get a piece hard enough to hold a fret and ware well.

Beautiful. Thanks, Bill. I've got a huge piece of Kwila sitting here, just needs resawing. Saves hunting for more timber.

I've got plenty of NGR, too, and already put aside a nice hard, good looking piece, with reasonably tight grain.

I want a lighter timber for the front (and probably rear) of the body - thinking of QLD Maple. I have heaps of Camphor Laurel, but it's a bit soft, and also some QLD Silver Ash, but it's a little too white.

I'm looking forward to this build. Something different for me, and a bit of a challenge.

Thanks again for the help.

[Dengue]

Merbau / kwila is a very oily timber that leaches something terrible over time. I clean it with acetone before putting on any finishing coats.

Not sure how it would go with the metal frets

[Humphrey9999]

Merbau / kwila is a very oily timber that leaches something terrible over time. I clean it with acetone before putting on any finishing coats.

Not sure how it would go with the metal frets

Hello Dengy.
I work with it (Merbau) a lot. It is oily, but I've never had a problem with gluing or finishing. Not with the stuff I have here, at least. (Got a nice big chunk - 2.7m x 240mm x 50mm.) Like you, I do give it a quick wipe down, but with white spirits.
It leaches badly outdoors, but is much better indoors.

No problem with the frets - they'll be going into the NGR fretboard, not directly into the Merbau neck.

[Ball Peen]

I wouldn't have ever thought to describe Kwila as oily. It has a high tannin content that stains if water gets to the raw timber. I polish and glue as nornal. Crows Ash and most Teaks are what I would call oily / waxy.

[Humphrey9999]

I wouldn't have ever thought to describe Kwila as oily. It has a high tannin content that stains if water gets to the raw timber. I polish and glue as nornal. Crows Ash and most Teaks are what I would call oily / waxy.

Not as oily as some, and it might vary a bit in oiliness. (Such a word?)

timber.net.au describe it as having a 'characteristic oily odour when freshly cut', and also as 'rather greasy to the touch'.
Mine's definitely slightly greasy to the touch. No oily odour to speak of, but it's aged.

I wipe with white spirits just because I'd read that it was a bit oily, to be on the safe side, but the timber.net.au database also says 'Glues reasonably satisfactorily except with casein'

The reference: - www.timber.net.au - The Australian Database of Timber - Merbau