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I would like to know whether anyone could please advise me on the use of Imbuia for guitar bridges.

I normally make pinless bridges based on George Lowden's design, but if I choose to use this particular wood, it would be a pinned bridge- mainly because the wood is quite light. Despite that, it seems quite tough despite it's Janka rating compared to Rosewoods - and although I wouldn't ever doubt it's uses for binding, neck lams and back and sides, I feel a little doubtful about the use of Imbuia for bridges.

Please advise me on this, as I would like to use it. Thanks.

I don't know much about Imbuia...but I sure am glad to see you building and posting again!

Welcome home, Sammy!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

JJ,

Thanks.

Just because I haven't been frequenting the luthier forums of late, it does not mean I have had a hiatus in guitar building, believe it or not. It is possible to build guitars without "teh internets"

Hi Sammy

Welcome back my friend!

When considering Imbuia you might wanna smell the wood first and then decide if you can live with the smell. I had a set of Imbuia that stunk so very badly that I had to keep it in my garage... Even then it made my car stink so I had to get rid of it.

Not sure if a bridge is enough Imbuia to notice the smell but just the same you may wanna check it out and determine if you want to be playing a guitar with that smell 1.5 feet under your nose....

Hey Sam,

I'm currently completing an Imbuia SJ. The wood set felt fairly heavy and had a nice ring to it but I would be concerned about the saddle force at the front edge of the bridge causing a potential split.

Hesh - my set had quite a pleasant smell when I was milling it - kind of a mixture of pepper and cinnamon. Maybe your set was taken from a crotch cut slab ?

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Doug Mills
Chicago, Illinois

I also like the sweet, cinnamon smell of Imbuya. Much nicer smelling than Oak or Hide glue; although if you work with a lot of it, it can be a little overpowering.

It doesn't split easily, but it is light and relatively soft. I would prefer something denser and harder for a bridge. -I don't build pinless bridges though.

-jd

I was lucky enough to come across hundreds of Imbuia floor boards a decade ago or so. So I have been working with Imbuia quite a bit over the years for backs, sides and necks. I have not used it for a bridge but I wouldn't hesitate to do so at all. I'm sure it will be just fine.

It's an interesting material and ranges from a light tan to a deep rich chocolate. Quite beautiful and often very figured. I've also noticed that some of it is indeed more dense then others so that may be something to consider. But I'd use it, my two cents

I have built 3 with it and like it. I got mine from Bob C and that was 5-6 years ago and really figured stuff. Had some holes in it, but fills nice with CA. It sort of self polished to me in time and finished really nice. Yea mine smelled and had a bunch of old San Francisco come to shop because though it was a different substance. I made a bridge and fret board out of for one of the instruments and did fine. Can be dense so have to mess with it for right thickness and bracing. That said I pretty much went .09 on back and little less on sides and used normal bracing and it worked out.

Wish I could find some flooring of it, I would use it a lot also.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply.

The batch of Imbiua I have is quite light but tough.

I've weighed up the pros and cons and I will certainly use it for the next guitar (more locally placed) - the current one will reside down in the Westcountry - so I'll use a more common tried and tested wood this time, just incase something goes wrong.

Imbiua is a great wood.

Thanks again, you've reminded me how informative this place is.