Walnut Acoustic Neck

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Joel Nowland
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Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Joel Nowland »

Has anyone used Eastern Black, Claro or English Walnut for acoustic necks? If so what's your opinion?

I have used Honduras Mahogany, African Mahogany, Sapele, Maple, Cherry, Port Orford Cedar and Zebra but not Walnut.

Joel
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Bob Gramann
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Bob Gramann »

I've made several with black walnut necks. It works fine as a neck and carves easily. I'm careful to pick a piece with straight grain. I made one neck with walnut from a smaller tree where there were some curves in the grain line. I replaced that neck--it was pretty sensitive to the seasons.
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Bryan Bear
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Bryan Bear »

I also have used black walnut. Both necks are doing great. If you like the other woods you have used, you'll like walnut.
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Clay Schaeffer
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Clay Schaeffer »

I've used eastern black walnut for necks. Mills and finishes very nicely.
Alan Carruth
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Alan Carruth »

Straight grained walnut makes a great neck. I gave in to the temptation to use some curly walnut on a 12 string neck a while ago, and it definitely lacks the requisite stiffness.

I cut up some 'go bars' of walnut and mahogany several years ago, and stuck them in a corner for a while to see how much they would creep. The walnut actually took less of a 'set' than the mahogany.
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Mark Swanson
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Mark Swanson »

Another YES vote for walnut. I have used it a lot, it makes a great neck.
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Bill Raymond
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Bill Raymond »

I've used both Black Walnut and English Walnut. They work very nicely as necks.
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Dan Smith
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Dan Smith »

I've used it on electrics.
Really pretty and nice to work with.

It does add some weight that you may want to consider.

I was shocked at the price of a board I bought recently, that stuff's high-dollar.
My new philosophy is that if I spend 60 hours on a build, I'm buying the wood I want and not be a penny-pincher.
Ever-body was kung fu fight-in,
Them kids was fast as light-nin.
Alan Carruth
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Alan Carruth »

I was at my local hardwood yard last week, and they had several notices up about the high price of walnut. They also had a couple of pages from trade journals with stories about it on the counter. It seems that the Chinese have picked up on it in a big way, and are buying walnut as fast as they can get it. One journal article said that the price was at an historic high, and was probably unsustainable in the long term, so they were predicting that it would come down. I'll believe that when I see it.

The odd thing was that there was more nice, quartered walnut out in the stacks than I can remember seeing in a long time. I used to search for hours to find a decent board, but that time I saw a dozen. I did get one piece that I just couldn't pass up, a two footer of 6/4 that's just right for making a two-piece neck. It was in the 'shorts' bin, and so discounted. Even so, it was expensive.
Mario Proulx
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Mario Proulx »

yes
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Waddy Thomson
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Waddy Thomson »

Good stuff! Looks good too.
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Bryan Bear
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Bryan Bear »

Yikes! I love walnut but I haven't had to buy any recently. I don't like hearing that the price is rising or that it is the new rage in Asia. I liked having an abundance of it and a maintainable demand for it. Not to mention the thousand cancers disease threatening eastern black walnut. I know it could be a very long time before that has a huge impact on availability but I have to imagine moving even more logs with bark to prepare for overseas shipment won't help.
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Jason Rodgers
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Jason Rodgers »

Geez, I'm glad for the small stash I have, then. And I'll be coming into a bit more soon, too, as a coworker said she found a large piece in her shed (was left years ago by the previous owner) that she is cleaning out. Walnut is great, and though I've not used it for necks, I would not hesitate.
-Ruining perfectly good wood, one day at a time.
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Dan Smith
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Dan Smith »

I'm doing a Walnut Tele now.
The neck has a nice curly figure that should look swell when finished.
Dan
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Jason Rodgers
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Jason Rodgers »

Dan Smith wrote:I'm doing a Walnut Tele now.
The neck has a nice curly figure that should look swell when finished.
Dan
Most excellent.
-Ruining perfectly good wood, one day at a time.
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Ryan Mazzocco
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Ryan Mazzocco »

yeah, I'm going to jump on here too.
E. Black Walnut is my favorite. I love it.
Alan Carruth
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Alan Carruth »

Dan Smith wrote:
"The neck has a nice curly figure that should look swell when finished."

I used some nice curly walnut a few years back for a 12-string neck; big mistake. Curly wood is less stiff then straight grained stock, and this neck pulled up more than it should have. I had top cook off the fingerboard and re-work the truss rod setup, adding some CF stiffeners and swapping out an aluminum channel rode for one with a steel channel. Now it's stiff enough - just. Give some serious thought reinforcing that long skinny neck BEFORE you go too much further.
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Bryan Bear
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Bryan Bear »

I love this place! I never really thought about curly wood being less stiff (or at least not enough less to be a concern). I like the look of curly necks but have only done one and it was maple on a short mando neck. I could easily have pressed on with a long curly neck project and never thought twice.

I can really only remember seeing curly necks made from maple (most often) and mahogany (I've been temped by some nice blanks at Hibdon). Are those woods generally stiff enough that the curly grain is not a hindrance and your caution is directed at walnut, or are those makers who are using curly woods making adjustments and I was just ignorant to the concern?
PMoMC

Take care of your feet and your feet will take care of you.
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Mark Swanson
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Mark Swanson »

Curly maple makes a great neck, but there are problems at times. They come not from it being weak, but from it being a bit unstable. It's strong enough but can be unpredictable. After shaping, it can simply move on you.
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Dan Smith
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Re: Walnut Acoustic Neck

Post by Dan Smith »

Well, so far the neck seems very stiff.
I'll check it as I carve it down.
Just received this Walnut and Maple from Goby in Oregon.
I was going to take some time off of building, but I got withdrawal symptoms.
Dan
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