Wenge

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Fernando Esteves
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Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 6:10 pm
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Wenge

Post by Fernando Esteves »

Warwick does a lot of basses with Wenge necks and ALL luthiers I've talked that have dealed with them says they need to work the neck from out of the box in Brazil... It comes bowed in a way the truss rod cannot undo.

I had a Wenge neck from Warmoth and asked them about the sealer they use on exotic necks that doesn't require a hard finish and when I said I've reshaped the neck, they said it was not good, since Wenge is the most prone to instability wood and they "have a proprietary treatment to make it stable".

Anybody does Wenge necks? Any kind of treatment to stabilize it?
It's pretty and sounds good, would be a pity to risk it out of the list
Amateur luthier from Brazil.
I'm here to learn!!!
Alan Carruth
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Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 1:11 pm

Re: Wenge

Post by Alan Carruth »

Since I make acoustics I find wenge too heavy for necks. Around here it's called 'African crack wood'. It has grain lines that are alternately very hard and much softer and weaker, and tends to crack along those weak grain lines when the humidity drops, which it does around here every winter. A friend of mine lost a really artistic 12-string reso he was working on with wenge all around when the top and back cracked badly before he even finished it. Yes, it's pretty, but there are a lot of pretty woods that are much more stable and reliable.
Bob Orr
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Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2012 1:20 pm
Location: Nailsea, Nr Bristol, UK

Re: Wenge

Post by Bob Orr »

Not recommended for necks. Splintery to work with,heavy and not at all stable
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Fernando Esteves
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Re: Wenge

Post by Fernando Esteves »

Nice, thanks for the answer guys!

Any ideia of midrangey wood for neck?
Amateur luthier from Brazil.
I'm here to learn!!!
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