Well there you go, that's the funny thing about the internet, differing information on the same topic.
Have look yourself, just Google 'flame maple less stable for guitar neck building' and you'll get plenty to read.
https://www.google.com.au/?gfe_rd=cr...+neck+building
Not that I have any first hand knowledge, it just came up in a search result one day when I was looking at getting a replacement Strat neck custom built.
It certainly looks nice anyway, and any guitar built with a flame maple neck would most likely out live it's owner anyway , so I suppose it's all moot in the end.
As for building a neck from scratch...well I honestly think I could do it, if I had the correct tools, and more importantly, the space to do it in....I envy you Dingobass, being able to quietly work away building beautiful creations out of raw materials, then after completion, being able to stand back, and having the satisfaction of being able to say, I BUILT THAT !
Is there a sort of heart break when they leave the workshop?
I imagine there would be, if it was me.
As for doing the wanted finish on the ES-3, it won't happen.
There is just too much work to be done to the neck to make it look the part....the most problematic would be to add girth to the rear of the headstock, down towards near the nut, reshaping the taper of the volute, so it matches a Gibson...I'll post comparison photos of the ES-3 and my Gibson headstock when I start my ES-3 build, so you will see what I mean.....as the kit stands as a replica of a Gibson....it's had too much material taken off around the end of the headstock/tapering to nut....again, you'll see the difference in the photos .
Don't think this is a complaint, it's just a observation, as I have original guitars at hand to directly compare them against.