Pecan wood for guitar body??

[8wattjack]

 I milled up some nice Pecan about 6 months ago and noticed some of it is getting fairly light as it is drying out. I mainly planned on using it for axe/tool handles and random projects, but now I am wondering if its light enough to make a good body? Has anybody else used it, and if so what was your experience with its weight and durability? I would assume it will hold screws better than bass wood. It definetley seems lighter than mahogany. 

[rake]

Most any wood can be used for a solid body.
Seen quite a few white pine Tele bodies.
You really should give it a cycle in a kiln or oven
to ensure there's nothing left "alive" in the wood.
250 deg. F for @ 30 minutes per inch will do it.

[scstill]

Have you asked Gemini? when I did it provided some good words of wisdom (pros and cons)
Bottom line is yes, but dry it good and mill quarter-sawn if possible for good stability.
Thinking the wood really looks good, do you have a picture of your blank?
What body style are you thinking?

[rake]

A lot of hardwoods are not used simply because they aren't "pretty enough".
Back in the early 20th century pear wood dyed black was substituted for ebony.
Remember, a lot of the 70's Asian guitar bodies apeared to be nothing more than thick
construction grade plywood!

I saw a great video on youtube by purgatory iron works on chemically darkening pecan
for handles and tools. Might be worth a view. (give him a like. Trenton is a cool guy)

[8wattjack]

 Thanks for the encouragement. I have trouble uploading pictures. I need to work on that. I would probably do a tele for non book matched and mabye book match some for a paul. I want to do a small solar kiln, but for the time being I have cycled some in the oven to sanitize. Some of it is spalted and some not. It was 2 different trees and one was dead standing for a year or so. Its all stacked and stickered in a store building at the moment. If I can manage to reduce the file size enough I will upload some pictures. I wish I had a planer wider than 12".

[rake]

I usually plane before gluing.
Then it's on to the 16-32 drum sander.
When I first started a local cabinet shop would
plane and sand a few bodies for me for beer!

Where you located?

[8wattjack]

"I usually plane before gluing."
 
I do the same. Some times it would be nice to rum a full width board through that is up to 24" say for table top workbeches etc.
I live in north eastern Louisiana. In the Delta.

[rake]

I'm in NC. If you were closer I'd say we could run it thru my drum sander.

BTW, Is it peh-CAHN or is it PEE-can? 

[8wattjack]

"BTW, Is it peh-CAHN or is it PEE-can?  "
 
 You get it either way down here. I say peh-CAHN. My kiddo is in NC. I actually sent her some of the peh-CAHN and some cherry for some projects. I am too loaded up with work to mess with it right now, but I am going to see about that make shift kiln to get some of this ready. I would LOVE to have a drum sander. Just your average old Delta 12" for me. I keep the knives sharp though. It does fair.

[8wattjack]

 My kid sent me pictures of som of the MASSIVE trees you have in NC. I think one was a historic land mark in Wilmington. Absolutely beautiful country.

[rake]

Keep an eye out on Craigslist. They show up used quite often.
Brand don't mean much. They're pretty much all the same.
Mine was $300 for a 16-32 Ryobi. Spent like $40 on a new feed belt
and a couple of hours on dialing in the setup!

[8wattjack]

 I always watch the list and the bay for deals. I live in a part of the country where there aren't as many. Auctions are the best bet here. I don't suppose you or anybody else can give a recommendation of a reasonable moisture meter that doesn't cost hundreds of dollars? I have been warned of the cheaper ones and really don't need precise accuracy as long as its accurate enough to reliably tell me that it's in the single digits. I don't want to waste money on a $20 or $50 dollar one if it is useless. 

[rake]

I bought the pinless Klein at Lowes for like $50

[8wattjack]

 Okay cool. I have watched reviews, but nice to get a vote of confidence.