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| Wenge color changes http://mowrystrings.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=14278 |
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| Author: | Doug-Guitar-Buckler [ Sun Oct 28, 2007 6:07 pm ] |
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Hello everyone- This site has been so helpful and inspiring over the past few months, thanks to everyone who contributes... Anyway, I have been experimenting with some wenge and toying with a few ideas and have noticed(and read) that the wood is getting lighter and lighter in color as the weeks pass. I have read that wenge will get lighter colored when exposed to light & darken when exposed to air. All of the pieces that I have cut have lightened considerably since I cut them out of a large block. The block was very dark brown initially, as were most of the pieces I cut out. Now I have lots of pieces with many very light-colored streaks. So here is my question: If i finish the wood now, will it continue to lighten? Should I laquer it or something? I would prefer that the wood not get any lighter than it is now. A couple of the pieces are fretboards that I have made(against the advice of some OLFers) and I would rather not get them all gunky with finishes. Any comments or suggestions? Thanks again ya'll, keep posting the photos!!!
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| Author: | joelThompson [ Wed Oct 31, 2007 9:41 am ] |
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I cut alot of wenge for back and sides necks and fingerboards. A whi;e back i got a large board that had some sap om the outer edge. the sap is a light straw colour. when i cut into the board there was lighter areas that got lighter with oxidisation (exposure to oxygen and sunlight) this darkend down once finished. What i expect you are experiencing is that you peice was from the outside of the log and therefore is not 100% heartwood which is why it is lighter than normal. either that or you have panga panga which is a very close cousin to wenge looks exactly the same but is lighter coloured. The likely hood is that it will allways get lighter with exposure to sunlight but of course a laqure will help reduce this. You could use a laqure with a uv filter to help a little. Good luck, Joel. |
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| Author: | JohnAbercrombie [ Wed Oct 31, 2007 9:57 am ] |
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Joel- I tried to use wenge (once) and didn't have much luck. Once I got the splinters out of my hands  , I found that it was so hard and stiff that I couldn't get it thin enough to work for me, without having it split.
What range of thicknesses do you use for guitar sides and backs, when using wenge? Any tricks for bending? Thanks John |
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| Author: | joelThompson [ Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:33 am ] |
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To be honest i dont like it much my self but you can get buetyfull results if you can put up with the splinters. The sides can be thicknessed down to 1.8-9 mm without buckling and this realy helps with the the problem of it being so brittle. But you still have to bend with care. The back can come down to about 2.4mm One thing about is that it is lighter than rosewood so some of the classical guys are starting to use it becouse you can build a light guitar out of it. I havent used it for a neck myself but i have sold it for necks to electric guitar builders and i have one guy who loves it becouse its very dense but again lighter than most rosewoods. I think it has good quality's for solid body guitars but to be honest there are so many nicer woods out there to build acoustics from so i tend steer clear. But like any wood there will be people who love it and people who hate it and think wenge is the marmite of the wood world. It is a very showy wood if you have flat sawn grain and it will allways gain fans becouse of that fact alone. I would never advise a beginer to try wenge becouse it is a pain to bend but if you have the experience and want to try something new why not!!!. Joel. |
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| Author: | John Mayes [ Thu Nov 01, 2007 11:07 am ] |
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Wenge is a great wood. It's really not hard at all to work with other than it being splintery. Bends really easy and is pretty dang stable. Yes it will lighten some but that's just the way it goes. |
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| Author: | JohnAbercrombie [ Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:30 pm ] |
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Thanks, Joel (and John). Once I find my splinter tweezers, I may try some again! Cheers, John |
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| Author: | John Mayes [ Thu Nov 01, 2007 1:21 pm ] |
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[QUOTE=JohnAbercrombie] Thanks, Joel (and John). Once I find my splinter tweezers, I may try some again! Cheers, John[/QUOTE] yeah for sure give it another shot. I've had luck thinning the sides down a tad bit more than normal when bending, but treat the back like any other rosewood. Maybe I've just been lucky. I saw a guitar Mark Blanchard built out of Wenge and it was beautiful indeed. That's what made me want to try it in the first place so Thanks Mark! |
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| Author: | Blanchard [ Thu Nov 01, 2007 1:55 pm ] |
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Thanks John I have built two guitars with wenge. One was a steel string and one was nylon string. I think it is very nice wood tonally. It's very resonant. It is a little bit harder to work with than most rosewoods. It doesn't bend easily but it does bend predictably. The pores are huge but with a double or triple dose of pore filler and plenty of lacquer curing time, it will finish up beautifully. I have never noticed it changing color, but then I have never had any problem with splinters from it either ! Mark |
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| Author: | joelThompson [ Fri Nov 02, 2007 5:24 am ] |
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Thanks john, I think you should give it a go again just take the sides a tad thinner. also bending with a blanket in a form you should have no trouble at all It is very stable so thats a bonus. And mark you are lucky not to have sufferd a wenge splinter they are notorius and almost allways get infected. There is no doubt its a very pretty wood so that goes in its favour too. Its very fashionable att the moment so it should be easy to sell a wenge guitar as well. Mark is also right about the pores they are huge but nothing a good thick coat of z-poxy wont sort out. Joel. |
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