Steel Guitar Builder

have heard that "deer antlers" make good nuts/bridges...
anyone ever use them.......making plans to build my first
lap steel..........got lots of antlers...deer are plentiful in east tx
thx
bud

would a good beginner project be to build a simple lap steel
and get practice with making fretboards..installing pickups
bridges, nuts, etc...........OR IS THIS A WASTE OF MY TIME
bud