# Necks out of big leaf maple



## fishin' musician (Jun 19, 2008)

I live on Vancouver Island and am surrounded by alder and big leaf maple. I want to start building solid body electric guitars with alder bodies and I am curious to know if big leaf maple would be a suitable neck material. I know it is much softer than eastern maple but it can't be any softer than mahogany. Any thoughts?


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## Alain Moisan (Jan 16, 2010)

Sure, go ahead. Big leaf maple is often used for necks. Actually, I'm not sure but I think that most maple necks are made of big leaf maple.


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## elbandito (Oct 14, 2009)

Alain Moisan said:


> Sure, go ahead. Big leaf maple is often used for necks. Actually, I'm not sure but I think that most maple necks are made of big leaf maple.


Everywhere that I've looked (I'm trying to buy a maple neck as we speak) has said that their necks were made of Rock Maple or something similar... Actually, this is the first time i've even heard of Big Leaf Maple.


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## fishin' musician (Jun 19, 2008)

elbandito said:


> Everywhere that I've looked (I'm trying to buy a maple neck as we speak) has said that their necks were made of Rock Maple or something similar... Actually, this is the first time i've even heard of Big Leaf Maple.


Most necks are made from Rock Maple. Big Leaf Maple is a West Coast tree and is most often used for acoustic backs and sides or as a cap on electrics. It is the source for curly maple and quilted maple. It is lighter and softer than Rock Maple but I would really like to use local woods. In fact I have a suitable tree in my back yard that needs to come down (I'll miss the syrup...).


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## ajcoholic (Feb 5, 2006)

i cant see why not. I mean, it is at least as strong as some of the very light mahogany and Korina I have used successfully.

AJC


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

A friend told me...Rock Maple is from the eastern section of Canada..it's a lot harder because of the winter and summer thing..makes for denser and much harder wood...as to the one in the west coast..LOTS more humidity makes for a much softer maple. .....hope this makes sens.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Rock Maple is actually SugarMaple. 

http://ontariotrees.com/main/species.php?id=2060


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

shoretyus said:


> Rock Maple is actually SugarMaple.
> 
> http://ontariotrees.com/main/species.php?id=2060


WIch is what i was saying all along.....eartern maple IS sugar maple..


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## elbandito (Oct 14, 2009)

all of a sudden, i feel like eating pancakes.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

al3d said:


> A friend told me...Rock Maple is from the eastern section of Canada..it's a lot harder because of the winter and summer thing..makes for denser and much harder wood...as to the one in the west coast..LOTS more humidity makes for a much softer maple. .....hope this makes sens.


There is a Soft maple too. It grows twice as fast and is less than half the cost 

http://www.hardwoodinfo.com/species_guide/index.php


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## Jean GODBOUT (Oct 31, 2009)

I've used both, big leaf maple and eastern maple for necks, and I found that the western maple is not stable as the eastern sugar maple. I'm now using only hard rock maple.

This strat : http://jeangodbout.com/strat/stratocaster.htm have a super nice figures and curl in the wood but the neck became as a banana after six month. This big leaf maple neck blank dried for many years before I use it, so it was perfectly dry.

Jean GODBOUT


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## Hypno Toad (Aug 1, 2009)

I used local big leaf maple for my first guitar (the body). It was very heavy and very hard, despite being softer than rock maple. I don't see why it wouldn't work.

I'm probably wrong, but wouldn't figured wood have a higher tenancy to warp because of the irregular grain formation? might not be the best control subject.


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