Butternut lumber

[Craig Regan]

How would Butternut lumber work for the ribs and back (carved), on a double bass?

Its exceptionally lightweight, easy to work and is also pretty attractive. On the other hand, It is not very dense, so it could make for a very fragile instrument.

I have had some sitting in a barn for years, not sure if its too "experimental" for bass building. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Ken McKay]

It is a bit low density is my first impression. Compared to your cherry it is the other end of the spectrum. Density is around 24 lbs/ft cu. Cherry is 45-55.
Measure its density or Specific gravity compared to water. I will tell you how later if you don't know.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Butternut is a nice tonewood, IMO. I saw a nice bass by Ed Maday with butternut back and ribs. I believe it behaves similar to a real poplar (not tulipwood). I have a stash of it myself, though I doubt I'll ever get to it.

[Craig Regan]

The density of Butternut is around .38. About the same as Basswood, Western Red Cedar, and Willow. I got the idea, after seeing a Shen "willow cello" that was super light, and had a smooth tone.

One advantage of Butternut; It carves very easily!

[Ken McKay]

Craig, Butternut can be very beautiful wood, I have used it for some carving and furniture before. If you have some that measures 38 lb /cu ft then it should be pretty close to willow which is obviously a good tonewood.

Did you measure the density of your wood at 38? Can you show a photo of it just for yucks?

[Craig Regan]

Did you measure the density of your wood at 38? Can you show a photo of it just for yucks?

Oops, I did not measure it myself! I just googled "Butternut wood density" and got 17,600 results, in .44 seconds. Here is one:

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/wood-density-d_40.html

It would be interesting to do the calculations myself, how is it done?

Pics coming.

[Craig Regan]

Can you show a photo of it just for yucks?

Here is a photo of the Butternut wood. This piece would be for the ribs (4/4 stock).

I wet the board with water, so the grain and color, would be more evident.

[Craig Regan]

I have two choices for the back. The piece below is 15" wide, and 1 5/8", or 40mm thick (rough cut). It would make a nice two piece back, but the swell might be shallow.

[Craig Regan]

The other is 2" thick, but only 12" wide. This would require some "wings" glued on the bottom bouts to make the full width. This board seams to be a little lighter, or less dense, than than the 15".

Its all beautiful lumber that was earmarked for a furniture project, but now I am thinking a bass might be more a more exciting project.

I am going to see how it bends before I make anymore decisions.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

I have two choices for the back. The piece below is 15" wide, and 1 5/8", or 40mm thick (rough cut). It would make a nice two piece back, but the swell might be shallow.
I vote for this one. I have made several nice round-backs using 6/4 stock (1.5").

[Ken McKay]

Nice looking stuff there Craig.

Specific gravity can be measured by taking a small or large piece of your lumber. A cut off is probably best and make sure it is equal in dimensions along the length. I need not be square, but if wedge shaped, it should be the same all the way from end to end. For example cut off a 4 inch end piece about 1 inch wide. 1x1x4 for example. Dip it it water and it will make a water mark, now dip the other end and mark that line. Take the average of the two measurements and divide by total length to get Specific Gravity.

If you saved any cut offs from your last bass, measure them also and compare the butternut.

Let us know.

[Ken Smith]

Nice looking stuff there Craig.

Specific gravity can be measured by taking a small or large piece of your lumber. A cut off is probably best and make sure it is equal in dimensions along the length. I need not be square, but if wedge shaped, it should be the same all the way from end to end. For example cut off a 4 inch end piece about 1 inch wide. 1x1x4 for example. Dip it it water and it will make a water mark, now dip the other end and mark that line. Take the average of the two measurements and divide by total length to get Specific Gravity.

If you saved any cut offs from your last bass, measure them also and compare the butternut.

Let us know.

Butternut aka white walnut (juglans cinera) S.G. is .45
American/Black Walnut (juglans nigra)averages at .64

American Mahogany is .54-.64
African mah. (different species) is .54-.59
Red maple/soft is .63
Sugar maple/hard is .72
European maple is .66-.69

These are published at about 12% moisture content. You will be working with 6-10% on average but the differences between species stay fairly constant.

To me S.G. is not important in itself. It is only one kind of measurement. Lighter woods can be more stable than harder woods. Depending... No rules here for hard vs. soft. Each species has its own properties. Read some books if you want to go deeper.

In my business I use lbs/bdft.(sq. ft. at 1" thickness.) I did this be measuring about 5-10 pieces of various sizes per species and weighing them and then averaging them out. The wood I have here is 6-8% m.c. as we use it and I used NO books in the process. Only the wood, a scale, a calculator, ruler, tape measure and caliper.
http://www.kensmithbasses.com/woodpages/woodpagecontents.html

Butternut is soft. I was once offered some and refused it. I just didn't need another 'blase' species to mess around with. It is not that popular and for a good reason. It is soft and not all that attractive as far as comparing to other hardwoods. It should be cheaper than most woods but commercially I don't see it offered all that much.

[Ken McKay]

Ken,

Your measures if done in house are extremely useful. Good job on measuring it yourself!!

Specific gravity compared to water and density are both measures of weight of wood. If you take small 1X1X4 inch cutoffs of all of your electric bass lumber and float them in water, how far they sink relative to each other will tell you the same thing as their density of pounds per board feet. Whatever floats your boat :D:D:D.

Craig you could weigh the whole board as Ken does to get density. I am curious about your board. I like it and think I would use it myself. But if it is ultralight, I would not.