Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi everyone!Did everybody have a GREAT Christmas?

Can anybody give me their input on African Mahogany for neck building? I always used honduran before!

Thanks

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

It will work. There are a number of larger builders that are using African Mahogany to build necks...note that it is not a true Mahogany and that there are different species that are called African Mahogany...Khaya is one, Sapele is another

Hi, I've used Sapele a lot for necks, it's fine. Usual stuff about grain orientation etc, I usually put CF rods in, but I do that with all necks. There are many different woods that can be used for necks, Sapele is just one.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Khaya, Sapele and Sipo are the commonly used African Mahoganies, although Sapele's usually just named 'Sapele'. Odds are your 'african mahogany' is Khaya. I've used it for several necks, works fine, looks and sounds much like the true mahoganies (the African mahoganies, unlike the unsuitable 'phillipine' mahogany and its ilk, are in the same family as the true mahoganies, the Meliciae).

I'd think Sapele's probably the slightly superior (stiffer, also a bit heavier IIRC) neck wood (compared to Khaya), but given the right piece of Khaya, I'll use it. Like Colin, I put CF reinforcement in all of my necks.

   There is nothing wrong with the african mahogany or sapele for necks. Spanish cedar also is a good neck material although I prefer sapele as my first choice. It seems just a little harder than the other 2
john hall

Thank you all for your input! =)

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com