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What are some acceptable alternative woods for neck blocks other than mahogany? and - does the neck need to be the same type (or a laminate)?

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

i was surprised to learn(in here) that many good builders seem to use plywood. the sentiment is that the neck block contributes very little, if anything, to sound.
basically anything that is not prone to splitting or cracking

I use Sapelle for neck blocks and glue birch ply to sapelle or hog for tail blocks.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I think there are more that are shop laminated than actual hardware store plywood, although I do seem to remember someone using baltic birch plywood. Almost any species with adequate strength/ splitting resistance should work, I believe some people use spruce.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

I wonder if some of the alternative woods for necks could also be used for neck blocks, like walnut, cherry, and maple...?

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

I believe any stable wood should be OK, as long as it isn't too heavy or splits easily. I like to laminate Sp. Cedar in three layers with the outside layer
running with the grain of the sides. Cheap, stable, lightweight and smells real nice. Trim back the inside face so it's the same width as the kerfling
and the top will glue well to the long grain. Haven't tried spruce but some swear by it.

I think split/crack resistance is only half the story. In using plywood, don't forget that half of the surface area to which the soundboard is glued will be end grain; not the most secure bond given the propensity for the neck angle to want to change over time. I'm likely to begin using laminated head blocks in the near future, but I'll try to come up with a design that provides split resistance while at the same time minimising end grain.

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Cheers
Pete

I've been using spruce for years, now... To aid in split resistance, I'll sometimes glue-up the blocks from two different pieces of spruce but with the grain running in the same direction. This way I keep the correct grain orientation yet the different pieces will still have different weakness lines. But most of the time, I use a one-piece block of spruce...

I've even used red cedar without issues.

do you use spruce to keep the weight of the guitar down?

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We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at guitars.

Yes, and also because it's free(I live in a spruce forest... ).

I've used walnut, cherry, oak, among the usual mahogany and spruce. No problems there at all.

And to the OP's question, no you do not need to use the same wood as the neck.

Thanks Guys,
It sounds like any of the typical woods used for necks would work for the neck block... Is splitting really an issue? I've never heard of that happening...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

I'm jealous!

It's more of an issue with a dovetail joint than a mortise & tenion or butt joint.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

That makes sense, Rodger. I typically use M&T joints, so I guess I'm okay... I do have a block of alder left over from an electric build. Is that suitable?

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Literally any stable wood that takes glue well will do the trick...
Plywood is highly esteemed....

So is basically every wood under the sun you could possibly think of....

I did a neck reset and retop on my cheap Esteban guitar... Neck block looked like it was Spruce.... but that had NOTHING to do with why the neck went loose - it went loose because it was a dowel pinned Butt joint.... I converted it to a bolt-on, and it has never given any more trouble...

Thanks

Martin uses a laminated block. In most cases the difference is laminated , not plywood. In laminated blocks the grain is not crossed but in the same orientation. The layers do help add strength and stability. Plywood from the lumber yard may work but would be my last choice.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

The neck angle can change without any creep in the joints. That is because the body tends to distort under string tension. In fact, that is the reason most better-quality guitars need resets after many years of use.
I have used walnut, cherry, and poplar....all woods that are medium density and relatively stable.

Sure.

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John

I've used Butternut on several guitars and a couple of ukes. It works great.

Matt