Leaderboard

Then I took it to my dads woodworking shop and used his surface planer to remove 3/8" off the top... [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"65682766_10219062792509058_5418619697996234752_o.jpg","data-attachmentid":32550301}[/ATTACH] Then I distressed it and stained it to match the box... [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"64819569_10219062798709213_3397833363275382784_o.jpg","data-attachmentid":32550302}[/ATTACH] Then glued down the new top (not pictured - it was covered with car batteries), and then used a router to trim it to size... [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"65847815_10219062809509483_4077528799908986880_o.jpg","data-attachmentid":32550303}[/ATTACH] Then I routed the cavities, and began reassembly (including the original box nails)... [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"65873130_10219062815669637_8312748642645573632_o.jpg","data-attachmentid":32550304}[/ATTACH] This last photo was taken before I applied a flat clearcoat sealer, and screwed down the switch plate. I have also swapped out the tuners since with some fender locking tuners with the compensated pole heights (so I could yank the string tree).

And bagged this... Barnard 33 - more commonly known as the Horsehead Nebula. It's the dark cloud of dust and gas sitting in front of and silhouetted by IC 434, the red Hα emission nebula directly behind it. NGC 2023 is the yellowish reflection nebula on the left. All of these objects are in the constellation Orion - the Horsehead is just a bit south of Alnitak - the easternmost belt star of Orion. I was having some issues with dark frame subtraction with my near real time EAA (Electronically Assisted Astronomy) software so it's got a bit more noise in the image than I'd like, but I was still pretty happy to capture it this well - it's considered one of the more difficult objects for amateur astronomers to observe. Many people spend years looking for it and never manage to find it. Here's a couple more from the same constellation. The Flame Nebula - NGC 2024. This is quite close to the Horsehead Nebula, and actually shows up in wider angle shots of it. The bright star just off-screen to the left is Alnitak. The X lines that you see on brighter stars are diffraction spikes, caused by the light diffracting as it crosses the thin supports of a Newtonian telescope's secondary mirror. Messier 42 and Messier 43. M42 is also known as the Orion Nebula. M43 is the round nebula near the bottom with the star in the center. Orion (the constellation) is the location of some of the closest "solar nurseries" - huge clouds of gas and dust, out of which stars and solar systems coalesce. All of these objects are about 1,500 light years away. Originally I really didn't have plans on trying to bag the Horsehead Nebula - I was out trying to finish my Messier list - I've been taking photos of all 110 Messier objects... and I'm almost done - I just need M26 to finish. Since I got everything else I was after fairly quickly, I decided to give it a try.

I get folks on a regular basis wanting to sit in. I would never consider asking to sit in on someone elses gig. If you're not invited, you don't belong on stage.

She emailed this to me the other day... But I knew exactly what to tell her. "Just make sure you get everything appraised before you sell it, because every so often, something actually increases in value over time. You may be pleasantly surprised by how many good investment decisions I made." Feel free to borrow that response if the need ever arises.

Of course I couldn't go away for a few days, without picking something up, now could I? Went away for my wife's birthday, she's mumble mumble this year, and took a few of the guitars I haven't been playing down to one of my fav spots, and came home with this beauty.... [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"small","data-attachmentid":32143381}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"small","data-attachmentid":32143382}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"small","data-attachmentid":32143383}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"small","data-attachmentid":32143384}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"small","data-attachmentid":32143385}[/ATTACH] A 1972 Gibson SG Standard!! All electronics, minus the bridge pickup obviously, completely original, original walnut finish, original frets, just a killer player! Did I mention the ONE PIECE mahogany body? Yes, there is a small stabilized crack at the base of the body by the strap button. And yes, a few dings and scrapes, but hey, it's 45 years old! The bridge I have dropped to where it can't go any lower, and there is no buzzing! The neck pickup, an original "tarback", sounds wonderfully clear and rich, and even the Carvin, which I don't care for generally, sounds good in this piece of OLD wood! The second I picked it up, after playing about 6 different Firebirds and Pauls, I knew this was the ONE. This spoke to me. There's that special feeling you get with a guitar, and this one has it in SPADES!

Today, my wife and I were out, and we stopped at a guitar store. I have been wanting an old/older tube amp, you know, something small and vintage, and this store had 2 that were interesting. So I grabbed a guitar, and tried them out. After about 10 minutes on each, realized I hated both of them equally, but was falling in love with the guitar very quickly. Then I tried another amp, a Roland JC120, and loved the guitar that much more thru the clean setting, with just a touch of chorus. I unplugged the guitar when the salesman came up, and asked if I wanted a new amp, for my new guitar. He said he had a Fender from the 60's, and I said "no thank you, don't have that kind of budget, Uuhhhh, wait, what new guitar?" Well, as I was trying out the amps, my wife paid for the guitar I was playing. A 1999 Ric 330 fireglow. She told me she felt guilty that I had to sell my Ric 4003 bass to pay the mortgage when the economy tanked 8 or so years ago, and want me to have another Ric. Gotta love that girl to death! FANTASTIC playing beast! Effortless action, chimey single coils, with the 5th knob acting as a neck blend, to add a bit of beef. But I have to say Rics are weird. the bridge adjustments, 4 Allen screws for actions, and the bridge sits on a metal plate. Allen screws for adjusting intonation, and the wiring is just, well, weird. but I LOVE weird!

In my birth year (1945) guitar production was pretty much on hold because of something called world war two. I couldn't afford a '45 Martin anyway. My great grandson was born a few weeks ago - I'm going to build him a birth year guitar - 2016.

I needed something to do with all the free time so with the majority of parts on hand, I put this together.

The End, Abbey Road

I made the mistake of leaving my banjo in the back of my car while I went grocery shopping one day. When I came back out, my rear window was smashed and there were 2 banjos in my car.

Found JJ Pistols, He's doing ok. He asked me to give his regards to everyone.