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Although I’ve never played a guitar, I enjoy woodworking and looking forward to the build. My son is in the Air Force stationed in Germany has and been playing for several years. I guess he gets musical ability form his mom’s side of the family, I though I could surprise him when he comes home. I’ve done a lot research on the net and ordered a couple of books to read. I also need collect a few extra hand tools and build a few jig
I’m trying to decide on the type of wood I want to use, lots of choices.

In my shop I have some left over Eastern Red Cedar (Juniper Virginiana). These are 8 to 10 foot long boards I used to build the railing on my deck. It’s a pretty knotty wood but 3 to 2 foot sections can be cut out with no knots. If you’re familiar with Eastern Red it has a mix of white and red grain. This is solid red and is beautiful.

Can this be used for a sound top?

Welcome to the forum! If the wood is quarter sawn, it can definitely be a great sound board. If it is not quartered, it can be great firewood or deck material, but not so much a good sound board.
Good luck with your build!

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welcome to the olf , build away , but +1 on the quartersawn wood .

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Wayne: My advice for your first guitar would be to get your wood from a supplier. In my mind there is to much work involved to get caught in an unforseen trap. If you continue on building then you can consider your wood for tops. Just my opinion. Good luck in the adventure.
Tom

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+1 - as well as the wood being quartersawn, you also want to avoid any runout, and you're looking for some stiffness too. If you patronize one of our suppliers, you'll be sure to get a great set at a great price.

You can certainly try your Eastern Cedar, but I wouldn't on a first build.