Neck reinforcement

I’ve read a bit regarding the us of CF to reinforce necks but it just so happens I have a good amount of Ipe stashed away and wonder what any builders thoughts are on using it instead of CF?

Nothing can really replace carbon fiber because it doesn't expand and contract like wood. It is also light and strong which is what you want in a neck. But if you want hard and dense, Ipe would be a logical choice and would be resistant to bending. This stuff is hard as nails and difficult to work with. Will destroy the edge on tools in no time. Here are the stats:

Janka Hardness: 3,510 lbf (15,620 N)
Modulus of Rupture: 25,660 lbf/in2 (177.0 MPa)
Elastic Modulus: 3,200,000 lbf/in2 (22.07 GPa)

That said, I still don't use a neck reinforcement and have not seen bending. But that doesn't mean it can't happen down the line.

Dougbias said:

I’ve read a bit regarding the us of CF to reinforce necks but it just so happens I have a good amount of Ipe stashed away and wonder what any builders thoughts are on using it instead of CF?

Click to expand...

My double bass has a couple of strips of ipe in the neck for reinforcement. The luthier's thinking was that using ipe, it would expand and contract a bit with rather than against the neck, while still providing some stiffening. The bass is less than a year old, I can't say if it's done anything, but the neck was already being made of maple that'd have been hard enough one its own anyway.

I used ebony to reinforce the pine neck I made for the 2x4 challenge a few years back. It shows no sign of movement. It might have been fine without the ebony. I have a lot of fingerboard offcuts, so ebony was a natural choice. Plus, ipe dust is toxic and makes me high in a very unpleasant way. Use a mask.

I don't think ukes need a CF neck reinforcement, especially if the neck neck is shaped a bit fatter/thicker in the center.

But for $10 a uke extra, it's simple insurance in case of a weaker then expected piece of neckwood bows up-> which means having to lower the saddle-> which means the uke I made sounds less good as a low saddle with a low break angle = less energy being put into the top= a sound far less then what I designed (and was paid for)