Has anyone built a long neck from Black Locust and Jatoba?
I have a 2"x6"x6' piece of black locust and plenty of 1/2" jatoba to use for a center stripe.
The locust seems pretty heavy (weight) and wondering if anyone has done this?
A hybrid banjo I call "Smellotone III" is constructed entirely of black locust. It's not a long neck. The body is heavy enough to offset the weight. I also used black locust for a tenor wood top. The weight of the neck on that was offset with some lead ballast attached to the heel block on the inside.
Its heavy wood but not a whole lot heavier than maple. Black locust 48.2 pounds per cubic foot, hard maple 44 pounds per cubic foot.
Edited by - Maurice McMurry on 09/26/2025 15:30:34
Locust seems like it would be pretty heavy for a long neck but I have never built one out of it so that's just speculation.
If I did the math right...
wood for a black locust long neck should weigh around 32 oz.
maple = 26.5 oz.
mahogany = 23.2 oz.
those few ounces will be a big deal to most players.
Edited by - Maurice McMurry on 09/27/2025 04:29:13
quote:
Originally posted by Maurice McMurryIf I did the math right...
wood for a black locust long neck should weigh around 32 oz.
maple = 26.5 oz.
mahogany = 23.2 oz.
those few ounces will be a big deal to most players.
My math appears to be in the ball park.
