Ash is a medium-hard somewhat heavy wood with an open grain structure. This makes it a bother to finish, but the striking grain patterns under a clear-coat are well worth the effort. Otherwise famed as broomsticks and baseball bats.
Here's a freebie nut spacing rule I made some time ago. Just print it out on a piece of paper, and fold it over on the centerline. Don't worry about the printer scaling, it doesn't matter. To use the rule for a guitar, mark the two E strings on the nut and slide the rule until the marks line up with 4 between them. Et cetera.