Cliff and Fender
Thanks for your interest. I had missed the reference to Red Messmate in my earlier research.

I guess it will be pointless trying to smash this guitar against the wall when I keep missing those chords then. hihi.
At this stage I have shied away from building a neck. I purchased one from ebay for this build. If I get brave it could easily be replaced.

While on the subject, I have had a fleeting thought about building a Telecaster with the Red Messmate But I can only get a thickness of about 35mm from the plank. A Tele is thicker 35 to 45mm is appears. Raises the question is the "resonance" caused by the volume or the density.
I could add a cap of course. Build up the old muscles.