Just saw something infuriating on, of all things, "Modern Marvels."
It was a show about wood and lumberyards.They got to talking about lumberyards specializing in rare and exotic woods. One lumberyard staffer showed off a beautiful piece from a species of tree indigenous to Africa. He said it was worth about $2,000, and was likely destined to become a conference table placed in some elite corporate boardroom. I can only guess what that table will be worth once it is finished.
So the fat cat 1% need a conference table worth many thousands of dollars to sit around while they talk about yet another way to screw the rest of us? 
= new reply since forum marked as read
think that to practice the craft at its highest level (and make money to pay the rent doing it) you have to deal with some real pricks sometimes. I'm trying to produce guitars that working class musicians can afford. But given that I'm competing against 3rd world sweatshop labor, and $$$ saturation marketing, I can't compete with the corporations for the working class musician's dollar. I can't make a nice guitar for $99.95. Neither can Fender Musical Instruments Corp. But their factories in China and Indonesia can make a mediocre one for that price. For me to make money at what I do, I also have to seek customers who have disposable income.
I've been fortunate that most of my customers are real salt-of-the-Earth people. And also, while I work with lumber that is "rare" and "exotic", a lot of the stuff I use is considered "waste" by other woodworkers. I'll buy wood that has a warp and straighten it, or something thats cracked and work around the crack. I'll also use wood thats reclaimed or repurposed.
These are American Chestnut beams reclaimed from a barn in North Carolina. Chestnut is pretty much extinct in the Southeast and has been since the 1930's because of the blight. These beams are at least 100 years old.
I made this from those barn beams.
This was made with some nice boards I found in the scrap pile at Home Depot.
I have a friend in the lumber business where I buy a lot of my stuff. He's the one who sold me those barn beams. While he does cut down a lot of trees, most of what he's working with are unwanted or dangerous trees from people's yards, trees that fall over in storms, etc. He saves a lot of beautiful and unique wood from going to the paper mill or becoming firewood.
Thanks for showing us.
I do hope you find customers who are "real salt of the Earth types" and appreciate your craftsmanship!
But... I have a $99 Squire Bullet (with mods) that I consider my favorite guitar. I'll never sell it.
Are those necks 100% scratch built?
seems. One luthier put it to me this way: "a neck is just a body with frets and a truss rod in it".
Here are some pics of the jigs I built and some of the important tools I use.
Your granddaughters will love that! They'll be bragging to all their friends that they have the best granddad ever. 
