Neck wood

[H R Fisher]

   I have this nice chunk of mahogany wood . I was wondering if this is suitable for violin necks.

                                      Thanks  Henry

[Dr. Mark]

Hi!  'Suitable' is a funny word.  I think there are two major sides to the violin trade: the classical side where a mahogany neck is completely outré, and the folk music side where a mahogany neck, blue varnish, five strings, and other flights of fancy are acceptable outliers from the norm.  Then there's the rock side but that's more electric and plastic. 

[H R Fisher]

10 minutes ago, Dr. Mark said:

Hi!  'Suitable' is a funny word

 Perhaps, is it functional, is it strong enough, will it work ok would be a better question.

[Don Noon]

Functionally, mahogany should work OK, although there could be something different when it comes to friction/wear of the tuning pegs.  Aesthetically, it depends who's looking at it...  but traditionally, 

For guitars, it IS traditional, and works fine.

[Davide Sora]

Mahogany is a rather generic term, probably some mahoganies would be suitable and some would not.

[M Alpert]

6 hours ago, Davide Sora said:

Mahogany is a rather generic term, probably some mahoganies would be suitable and some would not.

I agree with Messrs. Sora and Noon. Most "mahoganies" should function fine as neck wood, or even back wood. Density can vary wildly between species and pieces, so there could be a real risk of neck-heaviness with a dense piece. Some have very strong and grain or large pores, which might be considered undesirable. Besides the truth that no classical musician will buy it. But who cares if you can sell your instrument?!

Try it, you might like it!!

[nathan slobodkin]

No.

 

[H R Fisher]

9 hours ago, nathan slobodkin said:

No.

  Please elaborate.

[nathan slobodkin]

1 hour ago, H R Fisher said:

  Please elaborate.

There are reasons for the traditions which develop within a craft or profession. Mahogany is too soft and too porous. It will warp under tension and also pick up dirt in the pores which looks and feels bad. I am sure there are mahoganies which would work and maples that don't but if maple has been the choice of tens of thousands of luthiers over more than 400 years I feel safe assuming it is the best material for the necks of violin family instruments.

[Marty Kasprzyk]

I'm trying to prevent traditional injuries to viola players.

So I've used 0.28g/cc Paulownia wood for my last three dozen necks and fingerboards to reduce weight instead of the traditional heavy maple/ebony combination.   It isn't stiff enough or creep resistant enough so a long 12.8mm OD; 10mm ID unidirection carbon fiber tube is glued in a channel along the center line.

 

[Don Noon]

52 minutes ago, nathan slobodkin said:

Mahogany is too soft and too porous. It will warp under tension ...

Mahogany and maple appear to be similar in stiffness and density, although like any wood, there can be wide variations.  Mahogany has been used for about 100 years for guitar necks, so I doubt that warping is an issue any more than maple.

But it isn't suitable if you want to build a traditional violin.

[Randall The Restorer]

17 hours ago, nathan slobodkin said:

There are reasons for the traditions which develop within a craft or profession. Mahogany is too soft and too porous. It will warp under tension and also pick up dirt in the pores which looks and feels bad. I am sure there are mahoganies which would work and maples that don't but if maple has been the choice of tens of thousands of luthiers over more than 400 years I feel safe assuming it is the best material for the necks of violin family instruments.

Tell that to the makers and owners and players of millions of Classical and Steel String guitars with necks made from Honduras Mahogany aka Swietenia macrophylla. Some of those instruments had/have tuning pegs in drilled holes just like a violin. 

[Randall The Restorer]

On 10/26/2024 at 9:41 AM, Davide Sora said:

Mahogany is a rather generic term, probably some mahoganies would be suitable and some would not.

ALL of the True Mahoganies will be suitable IF thedensity and grain of the  individual blank is suitable - just like maples and spruces.

Mahogany and Poplar are two categories of trees and timbers where it is best to use the Latin name.

[baroquecello]

Maybe it is strong enough not to warp, but doesn't mahogany split easily? I'd be affraid of friction pegs causing it to split. Guitars usually have mechanical pegs.