Block material

[jimini_pickit]

Alright, I'm getting tired of waiting/checking eBay for Honduran Mahogany for my neck block/point blocks for my F-model project...can I just use another material, say maple, which I'm amassing quantities of lately???

[crawdad]

Theres no ultimate rule about what you should use. We had a discussion here a while back about this, and some people used basswood and poplar for the blocks. The thing with maple is its really HARD wood and thus more difficult to work. Its also less porous, so it might not hold a glue joint quite as well as either mahogany or basswood.

Do you have a hardwood mill anywhere nearby? I bought a three foot piece of mahogany and had it thicknessed at a place by me. I think it cost about $30, and I still have a bunch of it left after cutting a bunch of block sets. You might try a lumber yard that has boat wood too as its a pretty common wood in boat building and repair.

[Bluemando]

There is a small woodworker's supply near where I live. They have plenty in stock. I could get you a price, maybe send ya some
if it would help.

[Michael Lewis]

Get used to not having mahogany, as it has been recently added to the CITES list of endangered species. You can use many other varieties of wood, as yet they all haven't been added to the CITES list. That might take a few more years. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[stevesrustyone]

I have a line on Mahogany, Email me at sparsons@zoomnet.net
I'll put you in contact, no problem. This wood is old and dry. I just received some cut offs for neck and tail blocks in the past few days. Very Nice.


Keep on Pickin'

stevesrustyone
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[thistle3585]

I have some slab cut scraps if that will work. Its a mix of Brazilian and African. Let me know dimensions and I will see what I have. You just pay for shipping.

[Chris Baird]

I know willow is acceptable and often preferred in the violin world. You don't find many violins with mahgony in them. Basswood is often used as well. Many of those huge holes in various rainforest are a result mahgony harvest. It is unfortunate that we can't figure out how to sustainably manage a resource that we find so useful for our own needs.