Acoustic Guitar Construction

Is cedar suitable for steelstring neck construction?.

I have made classical guitars out of spanish cedar but that is not a real cedar.

I've used Spanish cedar too on a 12 string, I did use two carbon fibre reinforcing bars in the neck though and a centre strip laminate of Pacific blackwood.
It's soft and easy to carve, but remarkably stiff for its weight and has help up well.

I have no experience of using western red cedar in a neck.

Bob

This spring, I built an all red cedar steel string as part of a build-along on another luthier forum.



I used two carbon fiber rods and a two way truss rod. The neck light but very stiff.

Yellow Cedar (Cypress)--- Western Red Cedar -- Spanish Cedar, also not really Cedar have all been used successfully for necks, top back and sides. The concern would be for grain orientation, grain pattern, aging process and moisture content -- in other words make sure it is quality material and not just common deck boards or fence posts. There's about 100 hours involved in making a guitar, in my opinion cheaping up on materials is not a value add.

It will work but you will need carbon fiber rods as pendan said. It's not stiff enough on its own.