You are correct. It is also a much softer wood and rates 600 on the Janka hardness scale, alder rates 590, African mahogany for comparison is 830. Spanish cedar is easy to work with and machine due to its low density.
spanish cedar neck
- Thread starter rezin
- Start date
You are correct. It is also a much softer wood and rates 600 on the Janka hardness scale, alder rates 590, African mahogany for comparison is 830. Spanish cedar is easy to work with and machine due to its low density.
devrock
Tele-Meister
Heavy?? My stash of necks and body blanks in my shop say otherwise. It's some of the lightest wood available! I have Explorer-sized blanks that weigh less or the same than many of my other normal-sized body blanks of various species. I'm currently building a 3/4-size S-style with a maple top that weighs, at most, 2 pounds. Not sure where you got that from.
Freeman Keller
Doctor of Teleocity
Lingwendil
TDPRI Member
I found spanish cedar is similar in weight and workability to new-growth southern yellow pine- Its still softer than say walnut or true mahoganies but a bit harder than you'd expect for the apparent weight. Really nice to work and shapes beautifully with rasps and carving knives when roughing out shapes.
My last bit of it ended up a neck for a 3-string Domra, and the last thin stock is now the top of a Finnish 2-string Jouhiiko.
My last bit of it ended up a neck for a 3-string Domra, and the last thin stock is now the top of a Finnish 2-string Jouhiiko.
Ronkirn
Doctor of Teleocity
Spanish Cedar is the preferred wood for making the interior liners in Cigar Humidors.. so.. if ya make it.. you can make several more, stack 'em to accommodate.. and keep a cigar in there....
alternative to that nonsence.. ibid what Freeman said...
alternative to that nonsence.. ibid what Freeman said...
I got it from pieces of Spanish cedar that were all very heavy and hard.
Must be broadly variable wood?
Or suppliers sell more than one variety?
Freeman Keller
Doctor of Teleocity
Search
I do not think that is Spanish Cedar but a hardwood from the Orient. I found some strips that were part of a crate that cam from Singapore. It was as hard and heavy as rosewood. While the same name there are a number of different trees grouped under the same name as in our SPF for 2x4's and the like. The pore structure looks the same as the wood I used.
And a learning experience, same wood for the neck though.
Oh well, guess I'm going to need to wait for that neck. The bearings in the motor of my bandsaw just crapped... 2 week wait time for the repair. Or spend 500$ for a new motor to have it right now. I'll wait for those bearings to be installed.
I think I found the answer to why some of us find SC light and others find it heavy.
It varies in specific gravity between .30 and .60!
So like ash, the heaviest is twice as heavy as the lightest.
And current plantation grown Spanish cedar is the light weight variety due to fast growth.
www.wood-database.com
It varies in specific gravity between .30 and .60!
So like ash, the heaviest is twice as heavy as the lightest.
And current plantation grown Spanish cedar is the light weight variety due to fast growth.
Spanish Cedar | The Wood Database (Hardwood)
Freeman Keller
Doctor of Teleocity
Telemn, if you go back to post #16, I believe it is, you will see that I quoted the wood database, including the section that says density varies. You even quoted me.I think I found the answer to why some of us find SC light and others find it heavy.
It varies in specific gravity between .30 and .60!
So like ash, the heaviest is twice as heavy as the lightest.
And current plantation grown Spanish cedar is the light weight variety due to fast growth.
.....
Spanish Cedar | The Wood Database (Hardwood)
One thing to remember about wood is that every piece is different.
Well right I saw that you said that and know in general that wood varies.
What I was adding was:
1) this wood varies enough that one piece can be DOUBLE the weight of another same size piece.
And 2) the recent most available is plantation grown which is faster grown and the light weight end of the range.
Others kept quoting me suggesting it was impossible for me to have heavy Spanish cedar because they have light Spanis cedar.
So I posted the section of the database saying those things.
Internet chat is messy!
photondev
Tele-Afflicted
I have made several guitars with Spanish Cedar, and it is my favorite guitar wood. It is relatively low density, easy on the tools, strong and can have nice figure. Unfortunately, it is very scarce or very costly where I live.
devrock
Tele-Meister
It had to have been mis-labeled. That's simply not what SC is at all.
devrock
Tele-Meister
I think I found the answer to why some of us find SC light and others find it heavy.
It varies in specific gravity between .30 and .60!
So like ash, the heaviest is twice as heavy as the lightest.
And current plantation grown Spanish cedar is the light weight variety due to fast growth.
View attachment 1080471
Spanish Cedar | The Wood Database (Hardwood)
My Explorer-sized ones are over 30 years old and wild cut, not plantation grown (from HUGE slabs). Same lightness.
I do not doubt that there is light Spanish cedar, or that you have light Spanish cedar.
Do you doubt that there is also heavy Spanish cedar?
I am not sure if there is an argument or why?
The visual appearance of the piece I showed a pic of does not negate the fact that the specific graviy of SC can vary between .30 and .60, right?
So is it acceptable for some SC to be heavy?
I have no need to argue that the piece of wood I called Spanish cedar is or is not SC, fine with dropping that.
I suppose we all have different ideas of heavy and light too.
If you put down a ten pound guitar, an eight pound guitar feels "light".
As for using a very light wood for a typically narrow steel string guitar neck?
If electric and .010-.046 maybe fine, and if a Spanish gut or nylon string on a huge neck that is fine too.
But I would not personally choose any very- light wood for a thin neck to be strung with .013-.056 steel strings.
Funny you should mention that, I recently set up a tele I have with quarter sawn Maple Warmoth Fatback neck with 12/flats, it had 9s on it before. It definitely needed some (nearly a turn) of truss-rod tightening. I didn't figure that fat maple quarter sawn neck would even notice the string tension change, but I was very wrong.
I've only heard of SC commonly being used for classical guitar necks, and I think for that wood you put around the edge inside (I can't remember what it's called now), I did also read about some guy making high end Les Paulish guitars in Finland or Norway or someplace like that out of I think Spanish cedar and "arctic spruce? maybe? I can't remember for sure. I do remember they were expensive and they looked good, but that's all I remember.
It seems like kind of a shame to derail @rezin's thread with all this worry about the wood density though.
It would be pretty cool to see some pictures of OPs build in any case.
