Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello all.

I have added to an order I have made for a set of Peruvian Walnut back and sides for a possible future build. I have always loved the sound of walnut and have been told it is easy (ish) to work with as long as it isn't high figured. I got it as I obviously can't justify buying a set of Claro Walnut.

What are your experiences with working with walnut? How easily does it bend and scrape/sand/plane etc?

I was thinking of either an Englemann spruce or redwood top with maple binding.

I know it is difficult to gauge but how does it compare to rosewood for bending & working.

I haven't actually worked with it yet but I suspect it will bend nice. Don't take it as thin as you would rosewood. I did that and the back ended up real floppy, which limits what I can make out of it. I don't think I should have taken it down much past .110, but like I said I haven't actually built it yet...

i built my first guitar out of peruvian walnut and carpathian spruce, both from LMI. it works very easily and bends like butter. its pretty light weight and not terribly stiff compared to most rosewoods. it taps about like a piece of cardboard, at least the set i had. thats not necessarily a bad thing though, depending on what you are going for. probably a good combo for your redwood top. it smells real nice too. thats a plus i suppose. here are some pics of the set i had. it was pretty dark and finished nicely i think.

viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=24901

actually, going back and looking at that post, there arent too many shots of the back. sorry.

_________________
sweat the small stuff.

Great looking guitar thanks for the reply. At least I know it is good to work with. Thanks again.

Hey coke, several walnut guitars here, but not Peruvian.
I assume the working properties are similar between Black Walnut, Claro and Peruvian...and if that is indeed true, you will be delighted with the results.
Bends like it wants to be a guitar.
Sings like it wants to be a guitar also.
Finishes easily, and smells fabulous.

I recommend it highly for a first guitar.

Best of luck,

Steve

_________________
From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Certainly can do that, Filippo, as Walnut isn't all that heavy.
Well, say, compared to ebony or African Blackwood, or Cocobolo.
We have been going a tad thicker on our backs than most do anyway, probably as much out of habit (bad?) as anything.
It does tend to make a loud guitar, and the one we just sold had lots of "everything".
Of course, you can do some of that with your back bracing too.

Steve

_________________
From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Peruvian walnut is by far the lightest and softest hardwood I ever worked with. You can easily poke it with your nail. It's almost like spruce, except darker, more flashy and with pores similar to mahogany. Bends easy. And it's beautiful!

Have fun!

_________________
Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

I think you'll like it. I've used it for necks, laminated with some maple for a highlight.

I've not used it for backs and sides, but if it works at all like Black Walnut, it is indeed very easy to bend and work.

I like the thought of using Redwood with it. My third guitar is a red cedar and black Walnut OOO and I like the sound very much. I think the redwood is closer to the cedar than the Englemann would be.

The thing about the Peruvian Walnut that I used is it has lots of "chatoyance" under finish - very glimmery.

Peter, I have been working with Black Walnut for quite some time now and it is one of the most user-friendly woods i have found.Mabey that's why it's called the "king of hardwoods". I find it very easy to bend with just a light spritz. It's also not as crack prone as rosewood either and finishes real well with very little pore filling.