Weldwood glue: that's bad news. My oldest pieces (veneers and solids) are only 30 years old and are fine. But if 50 years is the lifespan, what other options do we have? Is epoxy the best?
French/European Walnut is stock.
Find a quality local hardwood supplier with a selection of veneers in flat files. Take your time, lots to choose from. Ask what do you want to look at for next 10-20 years? A busy or mellow grain, light or dark...?
I deleted my door ashtrays, don't miss them.
The challenge with solid wood, aside from the obvious difficulty in carving it, is that it is likely to warp. Pplywood is much less likely to warp because it has grain running in several directions.Just about to tackle same...
Want to redo my own wood, too. My '73 is a euro and the veneer on every piece is damaged, at least in part.
My concern isn't in matching the replacement wood with French Walnut; I am more concerned about duplicating the thin veneer and worrying about its longevity. My thoughts are to use a dry, solid walnut, mahogany or even a tigerwood - whatever! Even a burl I find...
Come to think of it: A black walnut chunk arrived on my stream bank last month during a flood, and it looks aged and prepped; stands about three feet high and rough cut at approximately an 8"x8". A gift from the gods; my Triton dash...
So aside from offending the purists (and I'd keep the original flaking thin-veneered pieces in case I got stupid and tried to sell some day), what am I missing concerning solid wood?