Best use of this blank?

TTony · July 2023

I've had this large chunk of mahogany for a long time, thinking that I'd "do something with it" one day.

I was vaguely thinking of a 1-piece thru neck, but not sure that'd be the best use of such a large piece, nor whether a 1-piece would be sufficiently stable (that said, it's not moved in the years that it's been stuck in my workshop in far from ideal conditions). It's quite a heavy piece of timber in its current state.

Dimensions;
Length 53" x 4" x 3" or 1340 x 100 x 75.

The shaped piece at the end is approx 8.5" / 215 long (that was done when I acquired the block).

Looks like I could get 4 F-stype blanks from it, although I could then build up the heel area from offcuts and joint the headstock if I wanted set neck styles.

Those pieces next to it are standard sized blanks, for comparison.

Thoughts?

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/ba2e0288f9b61a613e8ac08d744ab45d108ef4a25c357f3278

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/09b35f8f0585cd84589b6478668aa3ce6e90f6f95a62a2c1de

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/0232b405b4469e84f27c164a43ea68f84c63cd7c270f8d6bcf

Roland · July 2023

Isn’t it time you made a bass?

GluedtoMusic · July 2023

Maybe sand the end grain a little more until you can see the grain lines clearly, it looks a bit rift sawn in your last photo which would make it a good candidate for splitting into laminates to reglue flipped?

TTony · July 2023

Roland said:

Isn’t it time you made a bass?

Now, I said I wanted to make *best* use of it!

GluedtoMusic said:

Maybe sand the end grain a little more until you can see the grain lines clearly, it looks a bit rift sawn in your last photo

I think you're right - easier to see from the other end

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/5f7663267a34faa3a5137eb5a33ac5f29d867a9d803dd62732

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/f2c9af06208dd3c31d6d8fd1a99b4cfdb6a4aa376ccbf67b21

WezV · July 2023

I would only do one piece mahogany through neck if the grain was on the quarter.

For me that grain would be used for 2 or 3 piece necks

ICBM · July 2023

Roland said:

Isn’t it time you made a bass?

One-piece solid electric ‘bodyless’ upright.

Sporky · July 2023

Baritone!

TTony · July 2023

ICBM said:

Roland said:

Isn’t it time you made a bass?

One-piece solid electric ‘bodyless’ upright.

I suppose that would tick the box titled "make something that you haven't made before".

Unfortunately, it would also tick the box titled "make something that you'd never play" too

I'm leaning towards cutting it into 3 lengths, flipping the middle piece for stability, and then adding a contrasting veneer either side for visuals.

I think I could get two G-style necks out of it, possibly one with a scarf jointed headstock, or 4 F style necks. Either way, they'd be 5-way laminated.

Sporky · July 2023

Why wouldn't you play a baritone? Lovely rich deep things.

BillDL · July 2023

TTony said:

I'm leaning towards cutting it into 3 lengths, flipping the middle piece for stability, and then adding a contrasting veneer either side for visuals.

That's exactly what I did with a sapele blank I had kicking around many years ago and made a nice stable through-neck. I had bought it as an offcut from a proper "joiners" workshop and store. It was a leftover from a fancy mantelpiece they had made for somebody and didn't have an ideal saw cut for a neck, so I cut it into 3 lengths and flipped the centre one. I just butted and glued them together and, instead of using full depth in-between layers of contrasting veneer, I just cut thin and fairly shallow grooves along the seams and infilled them with narrow maple acoustic guitar binding for decoration. It looked really smart and didn't twist.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

Best use of this blank?

Comments