I've been working a bit more this past couple of weeks, which has made running a bit more difficult. I've tried to keep it to at least 3 days a week, but I would prefer to get it back up to 4 or 5 days a week. My hasn't been improving like it had been; I think I've hit a wall in that regard. Speed was never really my goal, anyhow, so I'm not really frustrated or anything.
I made a template for my guitar's neck pocket, made a heel to match it, designed the neck from there and drew out a headstock. From there, I made a template for the headstock. Now I just need to make the neck template, route the body, make the neck, then proceed. I may toss up some pictures at some point, but I'm just so bad at photographing my projects....
Erin and I have seen a few movies lately... Inglourious Basterds was really really good, District 9 was also very good. 9, however, was disappointing (for me, at least). I felt that the story and animation were lacking. The concepts, however, were great...
There are a bunch of other movies I want to see, but a lot of them are too "scary" for Erin to watch...so I may have to wait until they're out on video or something, I guess.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
As I was going over the far-famed Kerry mountains
Another long time between posts...
I've been running at about the same pace (down as low as 13:20 for 1.96 miles...but usually around 13:30-13:50). Trying to run and ensure I do it at least 3-4 times a week. I've slipped a few times because work has been hectic and we've been swimming a lot on the weekends (because I like to swim at the bottom, my ears hurt and a few days later, I get sinus headaches...ear infection?). I'm happy with my weight and my exercise, though, so I'm just trying to keep it from feeling like a chore.
I've been reading quite a lot lately. Mostly Stephen King (I found that the Dark Tower series ended [well, it ended in 2004, but the last time I checked was way before then] and had always wanted to read it...so I've started that), but I also picked up one other book: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I was immediately drawn to the fact that the book appeared old. It was a hardback edition, and the dustjacket is a thin paper over plastic; the paper bends and gets distressed easily while the plastic gives it structure. The pages are also rough-cut. I knew immediately that it wasn't new because Half Price Books had 4 copies that appeared to be in nearly the same condition, but with different distressing on the sleeves (same type, but different locations). I opened the book to find that it was printed in 2004. I probably would have bought it anyway based solely on the cover (I have judged books by their covers since I began reading and it has almost never done me wrong), as it was a fantasy book (which is probably my favorite genre) but the little blurb on the inside cover sounded good, so I definitely had to pick it up. I'll try to remember to review it once I've read it (which might be after The Dark Tower...I'm a little more than halfway through book 2 of 7).
I've had some luck with guitar neck building. I think my processes and techniques are all in a row, except for fret slotting. I have an idea, but have been consumed with another project. Artie gave me a strat body a long time back (along with the neck I put on my thinline I built) but it was in pretty poor shape. The neck pocket is uneven and poorly cut, the trem route was NOWHERE NEAR being square with the centerline, but I painted it a really nice color... I've opted to patch the trem route with a bit of mahogany I picked up at WoodCraft. I will be installing a trem spring cover on the back like a strat (but it will have to be oversized to cover the patch, which I didn't paint) and I will install a Fender Mustang bridge/trem unit (primarily because it covers the patch on the front of the body. I'll probably wind up routing this one with a swimming pool route (so I can swap pups as I see fit) but I'm not getting too ahead of myself. The trem unit still needs to be routed. Once that's in place, I'll draw off a center line and figure out the neck pocket. Assuming I can make something work, I'll build a neck from my piece of ambrosia maple (probably 24" scale length or something a little smaller, just for fun and because I don't want to BUY a shortscale, but I've always wanted to at least try one out). I plan to install a black pickguard, maybe black pup covers and black knobs, but that might be too much black. We'll see.
I've been really tired the last few mornings, despite getting a decent number of hours of sleep. It's quite unfortunate.
I've been running at about the same pace (down as low as 13:20 for 1.96 miles...but usually around 13:30-13:50). Trying to run and ensure I do it at least 3-4 times a week. I've slipped a few times because work has been hectic and we've been swimming a lot on the weekends (because I like to swim at the bottom, my ears hurt and a few days later, I get sinus headaches...ear infection?). I'm happy with my weight and my exercise, though, so I'm just trying to keep it from feeling like a chore.
I've been reading quite a lot lately. Mostly Stephen King (I found that the Dark Tower series ended [well, it ended in 2004, but the last time I checked was way before then] and had always wanted to read it...so I've started that), but I also picked up one other book: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I was immediately drawn to the fact that the book appeared old. It was a hardback edition, and the dustjacket is a thin paper over plastic; the paper bends and gets distressed easily while the plastic gives it structure. The pages are also rough-cut. I knew immediately that it wasn't new because Half Price Books had 4 copies that appeared to be in nearly the same condition, but with different distressing on the sleeves (same type, but different locations). I opened the book to find that it was printed in 2004. I probably would have bought it anyway based solely on the cover (I have judged books by their covers since I began reading and it has almost never done me wrong), as it was a fantasy book (which is probably my favorite genre) but the little blurb on the inside cover sounded good, so I definitely had to pick it up. I'll try to remember to review it once I've read it (which might be after The Dark Tower...I'm a little more than halfway through book 2 of 7).
I've had some luck with guitar neck building. I think my processes and techniques are all in a row, except for fret slotting. I have an idea, but have been consumed with another project. Artie gave me a strat body a long time back (along with the neck I put on my thinline I built) but it was in pretty poor shape. The neck pocket is uneven and poorly cut, the trem route was NOWHERE NEAR being square with the centerline, but I painted it a really nice color... I've opted to patch the trem route with a bit of mahogany I picked up at WoodCraft. I will be installing a trem spring cover on the back like a strat (but it will have to be oversized to cover the patch, which I didn't paint) and I will install a Fender Mustang bridge/trem unit (primarily because it covers the patch on the front of the body. I'll probably wind up routing this one with a swimming pool route (so I can swap pups as I see fit) but I'm not getting too ahead of myself. The trem unit still needs to be routed. Once that's in place, I'll draw off a center line and figure out the neck pocket. Assuming I can make something work, I'll build a neck from my piece of ambrosia maple (probably 24" scale length or something a little smaller, just for fun and because I don't want to BUY a shortscale, but I've always wanted to at least try one out). I plan to install a black pickguard, maybe black pup covers and black knobs, but that might be too much black. We'll see.
I've been really tired the last few mornings, despite getting a decent number of hours of sleep. It's quite unfortunate.
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