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So, the ribbon Mahogany that I had my eyes on to use for my first build sold before I could get it. I picked up some Cuban Mahogany from someone local instead, and am really happy about it. The color of it though has me a little concerned with using such a dark wood like cocobolo as binding and the center laminate on the neck. Seems they may not contrast each other enough. Am I just looking too far into this?

Also, I ended up getting some wood from the same tree for a few necks, unfortunately I didn't notice that the blanks are 3/4 x 3 x 30. Do I really need these to be 4/4? I'm sure the guy wouldn't mind, but I don't want to trouble him if I don't have to. I also got a 3"x4"x6" quartersawn block for 2 heels. So with what I have, I'm looking to get 2 necks. Will it work, or go back for 4/4? Images of the wood:

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Jason McGowan
M&S Guitars
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United States of America, looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children....
Casting Crowns

Check your plan and that would answer your question about the neck material.

You don't explain what you're using the cocobolo for.

Edited to include what I'm thinking of using the cocobolo for. Binding, along with bwb purfling, and the center laminate on the neck. The plan I'm using calls for the blank to start as a 4/4 x 3 x 24. But it seems it will be much less than that by the time its done. I should probably just try to trade it out for some 4/4.

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Jason McGowan
M&S Guitars
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United States of America, looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children....
Casting Crowns

I use 3/4" thick boards all the time to make necks. After jointing the board, I saw three 4" and one 3" piece (adjust for your plans) off one end of the board to glue onto the long board later for the heel, but first, I cut off the head end at a 15degree or so angle. Thus, one long 3/4" thick board makes a whole neck. Good luck.

Cheers,
Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

If you separate the cocobolo binding from the mahogany back and sides with a single maple purfling line it can be a very classy look especially if the cocobolo is a little darker than the mahogany.

A 3/4 x 3 x 30 blank is for a neck with a stacked heel and a scarf jointed headstock. If you glue the stacked heel first you can rough out the neck to about 9/16 to 5/8 on a bandsaw. Then when you glue the headstock the scarf joint will be where the headstock meets the neck and not further up the headstock.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

So I was at a local hardwood store today, and picked up some curly maple to make purfling with, as well as part of the neck lamination. I saw a piece of ziricote there that I really liked, but it seemed REALLY heavy. I know that all wood is different from piece to piece, and even within the same piece.. but generally speaking, is ziricote more dense of a wood than cocobolo?

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Jason McGowan
M&S Guitars
_____________________________
United States of America, looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children....
Casting Crowns