New guitar build. Opinions on wood

[theorganicjukebox]

Putting together another guitar. Looking at bodies online.
I found a 100yr old piece of white oak, a guy can make into a tele...
Or I can hit warmoth for a single piece ash with a walnut top.

The tele I just finished, I did a bunch of chiseling and rough sanding to get the pickup and control arrangement I wanted.
So I was going to get something a little closer to "done"

So, yah, we got
1)100 year old white oak
Or
2)Warmoth body

[thetragichero]

always fond of reusing old wood. used some old elm cabinet doors for some bodies because i liked the look

[newey]

If you've got a guy who's willing to bust his knuckles on 100-year old oak, I'd take him up on it. Warmoth will make an ash body with a walnut top for you and the next 200 guys who come along. A white oak Tele? It'd be one of a kind . . .

[gckelloch]

My concern with either choice is you could end up with a very heavy guitar. Swamp Ash with a Walnut top might be reasonable, but you'll likely pay a lot for that from Warmoth, and you won't know the weight until it's done.

A Catalpa or Sasafras Tele body from this builder would be a lot cheaper and the guitar will be in the average 7~8lb range:
reverb.com/shop/woodtech-routing-llc?page=1

I wouldn't get hung up on a 1-piece body either. There's nothing inherently "better" about fewer glue joints along the grain on an electric guitar body-- although many glue joints might significantly decrease midrange damping. The 4.8lb 2-piece Sasafrass tele body may have more punchy bass than Catalpa, and the harder grain should give it a bit more definition. Sasafrass bodies tend to have a lush tonality with a mid-dip like a good piece of Swamp Ash. That guitar should end up in the 8lb range, which isn't too bad. They can also make you a custom build a lot cheaper than Warmoth, and they do very accurate work. You could probably get a 2-piece Catalpa back with a 2-piece Walnut top if you are set on that. Personally, I think the Catalpa and Sasafrass look better than Walnut unless they can do a burl top or something. Again, probably much cheaper than Warmoth, and just as good quality.

Seriously though, this 2-piece Catalpa Tele with an arm & belly cut looks stunning and should yield a comfortable ~7lb guitar, depending on the weight of...everything else: reverb.com/item/71653709-woodtech-routing-2-pc-catalpa-arm-belly-cut-telecaster-body-unfinished

I got a really nice custom hardtail S-type build from this guy pretty cheap. It's very good quality and accurately routed:
www.ebay.com/str/taurowoodworks

[cynical1]

I would first ask, what kind of shape is this piece of oak in? Is there splitting or other physical issues? How thick is this piece of wood?

Secondly, does your builder understand how hard that 100 year old piece of oak will be...and what it will likely do to their tooling?? If he does, and he's cool with it...then by all mean, use the 100 year old oak.

GC is right, a 1.75" solid Tele is going to be heavy. How much? For comparison:

Basswood average is 26.0 lbs/ft³ (415 kg/m³)
Alder average is 28 lbs/ft³  (450 kg/m³)
Poplar average is 29 lbs/ft³  (455 kg/m³)
Swamp Ash average is 31.8 lbs/ft³  (510 kg/m³)
African Mahogany average is 33.9 lbs/ft³ (545 kg/m³)
Hard Maple average is 44 lbs/ft³ (705 kg/m³)
White Oak average is 47 lbs/ft³ (755 kg/m³)

There are a few ways to lose a bit of weight on the body. Chambered or semi-hollow body, reduce the thickness...and cut some Strat contours into it...that'll probably shave a bit of weight off, too.

If it were me...and I did chamber it, I'd cut the blank across it's thickness and reuse the two halves...sans a routed cavity in the bottom piece.

You have an extremely dry and stable piece of wood at 100 years. I wouldn't waste any of it.

HTC1

[gckelloch]

You could just save the time and money on sanding and finishing and go with this MIC Satin Nitro-lacquered Roasted-SA body:

www.ebay.com/itm/175817250781?

It looks accurately routed, and one reviewer has stated such about another body from the supplier. The color is gorgeous, and it should be fully stabilized, but I assume the lacquer is very thin and the grain is not filled. It may actually be a type of Asian wood that's like SA. There are a few types like that. About 4lbs sounds right. No belly & arm cut, though. My guess is it would be a bit brighter sounding than Catalpa. Roasting/baking reduces damping losses, but may increase resonance losses. I have a 6lb Roasted White Ash S-Type body, making for a 10lb guitar...ugh. Sustain, bass, and highs are great with a notable mid-dip; as reflected in the pronounced resonance heard from the back of the body.