Oh no! He's going to hurt my legs!

I finished* my guitar last weekend. I'm not 100% happy with it. The nut that I cut is cut a little too deep (which causes a little fret buzz when the low E is played open), the pickguard doesn't fit the pickup covers as well as I'd like and I'm not certain that I like the pickups I wound for it. I say I'm not certain because they sound okay...but I don't have a decent comparison for them -- I also don't play them through a decent amp. Most of the time, I don't actually even play through an amp at all, actually. The neck feels really good, and it plays in tune about as well as can be expected (it is pretty commonly known that guitars aren't 100% perfect along all frets unless you either use an individual fret for each string or something else that is ultimately WAY too much work for too little gain). I love the colors and the overall look of it -- I'm just worried that I'm too "simple" when it comes to guitars to really be able to rate the guitar very well.

My next projects I'd like to undertake are (with possible time-frames):
cut a new nut -- whenever I get tired of the one I have...maybe tonight
build an amp -- possibly before we move, but maybe not
build a case -- same as the amp. I would probably build an amp first, though. Also, I would build a case because the guitar is odd in its dimensions/shape and I don't want to search for something that will sort of fit.
build a new neck for Erin's dad's guitar -- after Erin and I find a house (probably) I would like to wait until then, at least, just so I'll have a garage to build in. I might see if Kerstan will let me work in his condo's garage, though, if it looks like it will be a long time. Erin's dad's guitar is a Peavey Patriot from the 80s, I would guess, and it needs some fretwork. I could probably re-fret it, but I'm scared of doing that on a decent neck, so I could just build a new one.
new guitar -- I would LOVE to build a archtop hollowbody as my next real experiment, but I might build a bass first.

I'm tired of posting. That's how this tends to go.

screaming at the wailing wall

My guitar is/was nearly done...but I made some fuckups today.

1) I had wound pickups and only needed to mount them into the body, then hook up electronics, then I would be done...I chose to mount them with threaded inserts and fucked up when I drilled for them, so I had to plug the holes and will try to redrill.

2) while I was charging the magnets for the pickups, I broke not one but BOTH of the pickups. I might not have enough magnet wire to re-wind them...which will mean ANOTHER delay.

3) I just realized there isn't an access hole to the jack...it used to run into the trem route, but that doesn't really exist anymore...

I feel really frustrated and down that I was so close and now I'm so far...I might try to re-wind the pickups tomorrow (the only way to see if I have enough wire is to run out part way) and I will definitely try to get the mounts right...

eph.

I'm a lot like you were

I can't help but feel disconnected sometimes. I mean, I've got friends, family (kind of), Erin, but I mean beyond that. I don't really feel like I'm growing up...The things I'm interested in right now are so similar to the things I was interested in during high school. For instance, throughout the latter half of high school, I spent a lot of time skating (not very well) and dreaming of being able to build an electric guitar. I also spent quite a bit of time playing video games. Right now, I AM building guitars, I would love to spend a lot more time skating (it's difficult to find a time/place...which is complicated) and I've also recently bought a PS3 and have started getting back into playing video games.

I'm just not interested in the grown up stuff. I'd love to buy a house (we are waiting until Erin graduates and we know more about our finances). We want a dog, but want to wait until we have a house. Other than that and having a nice career, I don't care for it. I don't feel any strong urge to get married, I absolutely 100% do NOT want kids.

I guess I'm just worried about being stunted or something. I'm happy with where I am, but I don't want to get a facebook or anything to keep closer tabs on people because I really don't want to realize that I'm broken. Ignorance is bliss.

My birthday is Sunday...I'll be 25...that sounds old.

Oh yeah, Erin gave me a new skateboard, I finished that guitar neck and have ordered parts for pickguard, knobs, electronics, etc., so it should be finished within a month. It plays really well. Getting the neck set up nicely made me REALLY wish I had nicer tools (a nice rasp and a set of nice nut files being at the top of the list).

The birds were singing in every tree

I bought a Playstation3 a little while back. It came with Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. I have already completed the game and found it to be decent, but not nearly as great as everyone says. I would give it about a 6.5 to a 7....whereas it is usually rated at 9+. The "plot twist" toward the end of the game just felt totally unnecessary and silly. The controls were sluggish and enemies would shoot at you from SO far away when you can just barely see them. Oh well. I might play the second one, but I will want to play a demo first to see if they fixed the controls issue.

I already have a decent list of ps3 games I want to play. skate, Assassin's Creed, Demon's Souls, Borderlands, and inFamous are on that list right now. Erin and I borrowed Little Big Planet from my brother, so we will be playing that a bit right now. It seems a little simplistic right now, but at the same time, seems like it could really widen up.

I finished the guitar neck I had been working on with tru-oil. I really like the feel of it and the satin finish I got by rubbing it down with #0000 steel wool after rubbing on several coats of the oil. I also got a pair of guitar bridges (one of them will go on the body I have been working on) and drilled the installation holes in the body for them. I started to put a coat of clear poly over the painted body, but it wasn't taking it too well. While removing (again with #0000 steel wool) the poly, I wound up sanding through the paint that I wanted to keep...so I think that body is as finished as it will be. I'll have to scuff the whole thing down and repaint it -- at least this way I can smooth a bunch of smaller things out and hide my repairs better...I will string the body up and play it acoustically for a little before I commit to making a pickguard and figuring out pickups/electronics for it.

Christmas wasn't bad. Erin surprised me by buying me a new skateboard. It is this one. We went to her grandparents' ranch on Christmas day, spent the night there, then drove to Katy for the day after and then back to Austin that evening. Then we woke up early to go to San Antonio to go to the zoo/visit my brother. Erin had her other 2 wisdom teeth out Monday and I had to go back to work on Tuesday. My new skateboard is pretty nice, though. I REALLY needed new trucks, and I really noticed the difference while I was riding a bit at my parents' house.

CUSTOM CARS AND CYCLES!

I hate those cd commercials where that guy yells at you about some "HOT NEW ALBUM". If I wanted to be shouted at, I would buy everything from street vendors or some shit like that.

I really want a bulldog. I want to try to teach it to skate. I wish I had thought about that before Erin donated that skateboard to goodwill... I want to name it Schrodinger...or maybe Oppenheimer. If we get a second, it will take the other name.

I've been steadily working on a guitar neck. It's getting closer to being done. I basically need to try to see how much it really needs a level and crown (I did the fretwork this past weekend) then I need to carve the back. That has me a little nervous, because I am so close to being done. I'm also working on shaping a nut out of a bone I bought at the pet store. I paid $5 for a huge bone I can cut probably 20 nuts out of, or I could have paid $5 per nut blank from a guitar parts supplier...dumb question.

I'm currently reading The Terror by Dan Simmons. I think I'm about 1/3 of the way through it and like it so far. It's not really scary...but it is odd in a mildly unsettling way. I might read The Raw Shark Texts next (Erin's dad gave it to me) or I might go on to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I've been kind of "saving" that one, but I'm worried I might have drawn it out too far and hyped it too high...

I can tell you how it feels to be a gypsy...

Erin and I have our 7th anniversary today. 7 years seems like such a long time, but I think we're just as happy as ever. We're going to Z Tejas for dinner tonight to celebrate. This has been a busy semester for her, and I've had some pretty late nights recently, but we've still found a decent amount of time to spend together.

I'm of mixed feelings about the change in the weather. I used to love the cold weather times. I like wearing sweaters and stuff, but I never really got TOO cold, so it was pretty much ideal...however, the cold has been affecting me more and more over the last few years. This winter, in particular, has been very cold for me...I think some of it may be due to the fact that I've lose about 40 pounds...so my bodyfat content is probably significantly lower than it was before. I still like wearing sweaters and stuff, though.

I finished that neck prototype and have begun building my "final copy". It is kind of nerve-wracking due to the fact that it is pretty nice looking lumber. I managed to center one nice ambrosia streak down the center of the fretboard for effect. I hope I don't make any mistakes that won't be fixable. My router table sucks, so some of the shaping was a bit rough. I didn't have any major tearout, though, and have sanded most of what came up. So far, I've just routed the outline shape as well as the truss rod cavity. I might post some pictures of that process, the jigs I use, and the such, for documentation purposes.

I am expecting a delivery for many of the remaining parts that will make up the guitar, but I still have no idea what pickups I plan to use. I will probably just wind something myself at first and decide later if I want to change them. Additionally, I'm unsure about pickguard material...I bought some vinyl tile that I will use temporarily...can't beat 88 cents. I might go with some plain black garolite, but I feel this guitar might call for something a little flashier -- perhaps black pearl pickguard, or even brown tortoise, but that gets pretty pricey...which is silly because it's just a sheet of plastic.

Dear sir, I write this note to you to tell you of me plight

I've done a bit more work on that guitar body. I routed out the neck pocket and the swimming pool pickup route. I may need to deepen the swimming pool route, but I can do that later. As far as the body is concerned, I just need to drill holes for the bridge mounting cups and finish the finishing process. I will probably try to go for a nice shiny surface.

I built started on a prototype of the neck, as well. It is really really wide, but I think I'll like it. So far, I shaped the neck, thicknessed the headstock, drilled holes for the tuners, routed for the truss-rod, and drilled access holes for the truss rod. Still to do would be to fit the truss rod, plug the headstock hole, sand the transition, shape and install the skunk stripe, cut fret slots, shape the back of the neck, radius the front, then install frets and finish. For the prototype, because it is made of pine (not good for stability/sturdiness) I won't do everything. I won't install all of the frets, I won't install a truss rod, but I should do everything else, just to make sure that the new shape doesn't throw any new challenges.

I have some progress pictures of the body.

This one shows the back of the body with the tremolo route filled with a bit of mahogany.

From Strat/Mustang

This one shows the front of the body with the front bit of the trem route filled with mahogany. I've also cut the swimming pool route and the neck pocket.

From Strat/Mustang

This one shows the front of the body with the mustang-style tremolo plate installed, the yellow is a posterboard template for the pickguard I want to use, and the neck is actually only the neck template, as I hadn't started the prototype neck yet.

From Strat/Mustang

I ran 3 miles the day before yesterday. I really got into a good pace and probably could have run 2 more, but I was bored. I know I finished them somewhere between 20 and 26 minutes, but that's just because I know it was 6:02 before I changed into my shorts and it was 6:28 when I got back...also, I can't imagine that I ran my third mile faster than 6:30, as that's how fast I usually run my first mile...