Having tinkered in guitar mods recently, and suffering from garage luthier hubris, no doubt, I'm game to try my first Tiger-inspired body build. I had initially considered a Carvin thru-neck but heard from several sources that a body with a bolt-on neck will make for an easier first time build. I had also considered doing a hippie-sandwich-lite body with a ~1" inner core and 1/4" to 1/2" caps joined on. I visited my local lumber guy yesterday and he suggested starting with a solid walnut plank body. He also advised that the process of jointing and planing the planks for a sandwich for will be very difficult for a first-time builder (I didn't disagree). He had a several solid slabs of claro walnut (which is plentiful here in the San Joaquin Valley) large enough to use for a guitar body for what seemed a very reasonable price (~$35). I'm thinking about going this route, having the shop plane it to 1 3/4" thick, and cutting/routing the body from that slab to be attached to a Carvin bolt-on neck. Has anyone out there built a walnut body who is willing to share some advice on my plan? Any thoughts on the benefits/burdens of using a solid plank vs. two jointed planks for a body blank? Thanks.