Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm planning to order some neck stock from a local wood store. They have two species that they categorize as mahogany, Khaya and Sipo. I don't know the latin names I'm afraid, but I think they are both African. Any idea which of them I should go for? Thanks

Sondre

Sondre, I've only used sipo once, in a display case (see viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=23874). My main comment would be that, like a lot of "african" mahoganies, it had lots of internal tension. Mill a big 8/4 or 12/4 board into smaller, and they curve & bend all over the place!

_________________
Dave
Milton, ON

I got some African mahogany once that was badly case hardened. When i ripped it on the bandsaw, it curled up like a corn-chip. I called that board "Frito mahogany".

I won't buy African mahogany anymore from the local lumberyards as this stuff is completely unstable. Oddly I've had no such issues with Sapele which I believe is also an african mahogany. But I buy that from more reliable sources such as LMI rather than the local lumberyards.

I have used what was sold to me as Khaya mahogany and I wasn't too pleased with the way it sanded... it wanted to stay fuzzy; I would try to get honduras mahogany for necks.. that's just me and I'm sure somebody will be along shortly to set me straight.
Best regards,
jack

Honestly? It depends.

I have some Sipo - all stable - and a lot of Khaya. The stuff I have is nice and stable, medium weight, finishes up nicely. Not as nice and smooth as honduran, but it still works great. None of it has been particularly warpy or squirrely, and I've used quite a lot for necks, electric bodies, etc.

Is hondo nicer to work with? A little, yes. If I had to choose, blindly, which of the two to use for necks, I'd go with Sipo, which is in the same family as Sapele (my real number 1 neck wood choice among the african mahoganies).

Thanks for the input everyone. Keep it coming! Honduras Mahogany is hard to come by over here, so that's why I'm looking at African Mahoganies. I was thinking of buying flat-sawn two-by-four stock and laminate it.

Khaya, like other wood, depends on the piece. I've made maybe 30 necks with it and they are great. I have seen stuff that's squirrely but I've seen a lot more that comes off the saw perfectly straight.

The heavier stuff is about as dense as the lightest Honduras and like Honduras, darker color is typically heavier and more stable. I personally don't think it's quite stiff enough to make thin 14-fret necks on steel strings with no cf reinforcement. With thicker necks or added cf bars, it's fine.

I would not recommend it if you like to shape your necks with a spokeshave. There is a lot of interlocking grain and it's almost impossible to cut cleanly.

_________________
http://www.chassonguitars.com

I've made a couple of khaya necks that turned out great.

_________________
David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."