Well ain't this fun. Glad y'all are having so many laughs on my dime, and much thanks to those weighing in with suggestions.
To muddy the waters a bit, I am only interested in the possibility of building a metal guitar body out of brass that resembles a National Style O as closely as I might get it or decide it needs to be, with some interesting references to saxes embedded in it somehow. The neck I will buy, the wood work is not an issue.
I have numerous sax bodies that are essentially good for scrap as they have no keys, etc, and none of them are worth restoring. I am a long time sax and guitar player, so this seems like a good project for me if I can make it work. I have very little tooling, but have many smithing friends and connections, and possible access to a metal work shop. This guitar will not have any pickups. I will buy the cone. Sending the bodies or parts of the bodies through a roller was one idea I had. I would prefer to do the whole project out of recycled sax for spiritual reasons and out of a long time debt I owe brass and the spirit of saxophone. If I had to use some sheet brass that might be workable, but finding acoustically similar metal might be challenging and would be a compromise I'm not sure I can accept. I am very meticulous and very resourceful. I need a resophonic partner and ally for what I write, sing, and perform and have had several, but now I need "the one" (not that there's only one in the world haha) And, as one of my teachers once so eloquently put, it could be that making a guitar that is somehow artistically beautiful, has my sweat and blessing in it, but may not ultimately end up playable, could actually be the gift I need to offer up so that the right guitar will present itself.
Chew on that one and fire away.
~Peter.
~if sounds do not reach the ear in the chest
nothing happens~