I'm more concerned about the neck stock, which I don't have photographs of that would be at all helpful.
The Walnut's currently a block about 6" x 1.75" x neck length, it's rough-sawn, and at the very least 3 years old; the guys at the yard had it in the 'small parts' pile, and didn't know exactly which batch of Walnut this one came from. They knew it was at LEAST 3 years old, dry, but couldn't say anything more about it. They'd already processed the rest of the log into tables/countertops, and hadn't had any complaints about it.
I'm going to be building up neck blank stop for the next couple of years (hey, I only plan on building 3 or so per annum..) to make sure they acclimatize properly, and stay stable with this in mind. I think I'll rough-saw the blank into the pieces I need for a neck, let them 'rest' and see if there's any movement (leave it for a month or two) before I process it any further (ie. laminate 'er up!)
But what I'm still unsure of is the whole sapwood thing in a neck: is it OK to leave it in there, facing the center laminates, or am I just asking for trouble? Is there a difference in terms of stability and strength that makes this a stupid thing to contemplate for a neck?
More or less, the laminate will look like this (photoshopped, and using a different piece of walnut I got from the same source, and using a piece of nice flamed Maple BobC's supplying me with):
