Wenge for a top?

[C Squared]

So after putting off doing a LP build for going on 2 years now, think I'm finally ready to start.... maybe

This is sort of what I'm going for

Mahogany core, mahogany neck, rosewood board, no inlays, 2 volume and master tone controls... I've got a good stash of wood to get started, the top is what is got me scratching my head...

I was really thinking a rosewood top would be sweet as hell, (though of course it would probably take me a year to get a good carve on it) but I'm looking at pics of wenge and wondering....

I've played a few basses with wenge necks and loved the feel, look, and tone... but how hard is it to work with this stuff??? Course would it be any crazier then trying to carve a rosewood top?

 

[wood5711]

Personally I think a wenge top would look fantastic!!

Note of caution though,
While wenge is a beautiful wood to work with, it can be challenging as well.
Wenge is very tight and straight grained. It is very susceptible to end grain tear outs! Routing the edges or binding channel will be your biggest caution area. The carve part should go fine, but i would do it more by hand then by router. Small amounts at a time. It is a strong wood, but is very fun to work with and the results are well worth the effort!

Good luck!

 

[C Squared]

Thanks for the input. I was actually thinking of not doing any binding and making more of a studio. My Vintage Mahogany has fast become a favorite. Raw-ish finish and no binding. Have you used it all as a body or top? Tone-wise what would you compared it to?

 

[wood5711]

Have not used it as a tone wood. Property wise I would believe it would be great. Like I said it has a real tight grain and should make a good tonal wood. I know it is used alot in acoustic guitars.

 

[dougk]

Its my favorite fretboard material.

Keep in mind, its tight grain but still needs to be grain filled. Doesn't look like it but soon as you put lacquer over it, you'll find the open grain

 

[C Squared]

Its my favorite fretboard material.

Keep in mind, its tight grain but still needs to be grain filled. Doesn't look like it but soon as you put lacquer over it, you'll find the open grain

Do you lacquer it for a fretboard or leave it raw like rosewood?

I was hoping to leave it fairly raw, satin finish if anything. If I wanted shiny I'd go with maple

 

[wood5711]

I would still leave it raw.

 

[umangu]

Wenge would be harder than rosewood. Also, you'll need to glue it with epoxy, as the oils in it prevent more conventional wood glues from doing their thing.

 

[ihavenofish]

Wenge would be harder than rosewood. Also, you'll need to glue it with epoxy, as the oils in it prevent more conventional wood glues from doing their thing.

wenge is nowhere near as hard as most rosewoods. the brack grain lines are fairly hard, but the brown is very soft (like basswood soft). glueing is easy, titebond and other carpenters glues work just fine in my experience.

ive used it for a fretboard, but i found i was alergic to the dust so i havent used it since (ive got 2 book matched 1/4" tops and some more fretboards kicking around somewhere). a shop i worked with years ago did lots of furniture and flooring with it. only real issue with oiliness was gumming up rollers in machinerey.

 

[Murkar]

Hey mate -

you might find this website helpful. This guy seems to have used wenge for a couple of his guitar tops.

Alexander James Custom Guitars

The second one down from the top at that link has a wenge top, and a few of his other guitar use wenge (more often for body than top I think but I haven't sorted through it that much).

There's a vid here of the Laurent guitar with wenge top if you want to have a listen and see how it sounds [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azvJcRhz-QY[/ame]

Hope that helps a bit, that guitar mock up at the top looks awesome, wenge would make a really nice looking LP

 

[C Squared]

Thanks for the info my friend!!! Most appreciated. Def convinced me to go for the wenge top. Hell after playing my Bass again I'm considering it for a neck as well

 

[umangu]

wenge is nowhere near as hard as most rosewoods. the brack grain lines are fairly hard, but the brown is very soft (like basswood soft). glueing is easy, titebond and other carpenters glues work just fine in my experience.

ive used it for a fretboard, but i found i was alergic to the dust so i havent used it since (ive got 2 book matched 1/4" tops and some more fretboards kicking around somewhere). a shop i worked with years ago did lots of furniture and flooring with it. only real issue with oiliness was gumming up rollers in machinerey.

My apologies, I was talking about cocobollo!

 

[rmh]

One important thing about wenge...

From wikipedia;

"The dust produced when cutting or sanding wenge can cause dermatitis similar to the effects of poison ivy and is an irritant to the eyes. The dust also can cause respiratory problems and drowsiness. Splinters are septic, similar to those of greenheart."

So be very careful - make sure you're completely covered up, eye protection and a dust mask and I would not leave it raw unless you want to risk a rash every time you play the guitar!

I suspect it affects different people differently...

I thought about using it in my next guitar, but the potential health hazards put me off!

 

[ihavenofish]

One important thing about wenge...

From wikipedia;

"The dust produced when cutting or sanding wenge can cause dermatitis similar to the effects of poison ivy and is an irritant to the eyes. The dust also can cause respiratory problems and drowsiness. Splinters are septic, similar to those of greenheart."

So be very careful - make sure you're completely covered up, eye protection and a dust mask and I would not leave it raw unless you want to risk a rash every time you play the guitar!

I suspect it affects different people differently...

I thought about using it in my next guitar, but the potential health hazards put me off!

im alergic to the dust. makes me itchy. but a raw fretboard (lemon oiled) seems to have no effect.

 

[Murkar]

I probably wouldn't leave it raw even if you' don't react to it.....unless you want to be the only person who ever gets to touch the guitar top - somebody else might react to it if they touch it, even though it would be nice raw it might turn out to be more inconvenience than you'll want to bear.

 

[dougk]

Do you lacquer it for a fretboard or leave it raw like rosewood?

I was hoping to leave it fairly raw, satin finish if anything. If I wanted shiny I'd go with maple

On a fretboard I give it one or two passes of tru-oil. That seals it up to moisture, sweat grime ect, but it still feels raw. Its like a nicely oiled FB but lasts quite a while.

Wenge would be harder than rosewood. Also, you'll need to glue it with epoxy, as the oils in it prevent more conventional wood glues from doing their thing.

I always use titebond, never had an issue.

Hey mate -

you might find this website helpful. This guy seems to have used wenge for a couple of his guitar tops.

Alexander James Custom Guitars

The second one down from the top at that link has a wenge top, and a few of his other guitar use wenge (more often for body than top I think but I haven't sorted through it that much).

There's a vid here of the Laurent guitar with wenge top if you want to have a listen and see how it sounds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azvJcRhz-QY

Hope that helps a bit, that guitar mock up at the top looks awesome, wenge would make a really nice looking LP

Love those guys. Got to meet them at Montreal this year... pretty sure they have some good stories about me at the builders party

 

[popp]

I used Wenge for the top of my first guitar build. It's quite toxic --- like rmh said. You should be careful, every little splinter causes an inflammation --- after a while my hands looked like burger meat...
I also recommend protecting yourself with a dusk mask...

Here's a pic of my guitar, inspired by a non reverse Firebird:

backside:

Cheers,
M.

 

[C Squared]

I used Wenge for the top of my first guitar build. It's quite toxic --- like rmh said. You should be careful, every little splinter causes an inflammation --- after a while my hands looked like burger meat...
I also recommend protecting yourself with a dusk mask...

Here's a pic of my guitar, inspired by a non reverse Firebird:

backside:

Cheers,
M.

Nice work!!! Top is gorgeous. What do you think of it tonewise?

 

[popp]

Thank's
distorted she sounds dark and growly, clean kind of round and mellow --- like a jazz guitar... I think most of it comes from the neck --- 3 pieces - mahogany laminated with a stripe of alder. Mahogany tends to sound warmer than alder and not so crisp... But that's just my experience so correct me if I'm wrong. Btw. the scale lenght of my guitar is just 24", so it's shorter than the regular Gibson scale...
I've also wound the pickups myself with massive support from a pro builder who just told me how to do it - when it comes to electronics, I'm a total noob.
Since then I bought two books about guitar electronics, one in english and one in german. It doesn't matter which one I read - my brain always hurts

M.

 

[Texas07R8]

how is the weight for a full top made of Wenge, I've got some small strips in the shop and it's dense and heavy. I'm on a mission to go the other way and keep things light but I do love the look of those dark woods though...