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Living Room / Re: Do we have any musical people on DC?
« on: November 24, 2014, 12:04 PM »
My son's collection started with a 12 string telecaster I built from a hodgepodge of parts, which I fell back on my car painting days of the late 70's/early 80's and painted Ford Mustang red. I put a lipstick pickup in the bridge position and a hot Texas wound pickup in the neck. From there, we restored and rewired a number of guitars over the next 2-3 years, then I built him a strat wired with 6 DPDT switches to turn on/off each pickup separately and put in and out of phase like Queen's guitarist Brian May. I even hunted down a set of pickups with the same fat poles and specs as May's. That's when instructors, friends, and musicians began asking if I'd build guitars for them.
Just this Summer, my family and friends suggested I put my name on my guitars, so my hobby is now a VERY small business  I built a strat style guitar with a Fender TBX (treble bass expander) and an Atrec band control unit. The flawed fender tremolo was replaced with a Stetsbar unit. I have pics of that guitar.

I'm about 70% done with a PJ style bass with active pickups and a through the body bridge. I've dyed its swamp ash black, highlighted the grain with a silver powder suspension, and am French polishing the body now. The rosewood neck I've sealed in lacquer like Rickenbacker does. On deck for future contracted builds I've got a 50's tele style with the body made from a combination of maple, Honduran mahogany, and Peruvian walnut, and a few builds whenever no contracted work is in the making like an arch top with two TV Jones HBs and a barncaster from reclaimed pine that I intend to partially burn before starting.
I'm a retired cop, and this is far more relaxing than chasing bad guys!

That said, I should use this forum to see if anyone could whip out a couple of form apps or files, like an inventory list that I could use to see what it cost me, as well as a build sheet that I could spec the entire build out to provide an estimate sheet and an itemized bill of sale. I may do well as a luthier, but I rather suck at creating anything on my PC or my iPhone. (sorry it took so long to post this, have been away from my desktop for a while now...)

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Living Room / Re: Do we have any musical people on DC?
« on: November 21, 2014, 06:23 PM »
I'm musical in the sense of building guitars (acoustic and electric) and effects pedals, mainly for my just-turned-15 year old son, who's somewhat of a prodigy musician. I found it has been far easier on the budget to use my woodworking skills to supply him with the different guitar types he needs, and it rolled me out of retirement when musicians who've worked with him began asking if I'd build them custom instruments.

My electrical experience suffices for coming up with different wirings for the pickups, but anyone who has ideas along the workings of stomp boxes, I can build them off of a schematic or  parts list, not much past there. 
My son's performing next month in a Lynyrd Skynyrd/Allman Brothers tribute the second month of December.
You would NOT want me to sing, though!

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I'm a Christian husband, Marine, father of 2, a retired Sheriff's deputy who married one of the dispatchers (she was always telling me where to go anyway, so...).  I retired in after 12 years service due to continued complications from an on-duty crash that very nearly killed me:
 Bray, Thos., HCSO, 21DEC96.jpg
At the time of the crash, I had been dating my future wife for a few months, who was also a paramedic. When the doctors were planning to release me to a long term care facility for phys therapy, she asked if I could be released to her home, and she would see to my care. Her experience as a paramedic, along with 3+ years of her nursing degree completed, was enough to convince the docs that I would be in good hands. 

Needless to say, she was a keeper! We've been together ever since. As a family, we all volunteer at the zoo, working with and caring for several bird species it the Bird House. This experience has transformed our own home into an indoor aviary.

Computer-wise, what little knowledge I have has been self taught. I also like to work with stained glass, as well as wood carving and woodworking.  We are going to expand our "zoo" into a breeding facility, once we find a mate for our favorite feathered friend Hannibal, formally known as Hannibal, prior to our confirming her--er, I mean his--sex through a DNA test.
Baby-Girl.jpg

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Living Room / Re: Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading List
« on: June 13, 2011, 07:04 PM »
For anyone looking to purchase any of these or other books, I've found the best prices on Bookfinder.com .  I don't have any affiliation with the site, just tossing it out there for those who are interested...

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Below are photos of 2 of my 3 parrots, my cat, and my dog....

tjbray

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