just pulled off a great family getaway

I never spent a vacation with my entire extended family, and this past week we did just that. With 3 different families it could have gone either way. The way it went was in the direction of wonderful. Precursor -I don't talk about it much, instead it unfortunately "ate away" at me for the better part of the summer, but my mom has been sick and I was terribly worried about her health. Thank God her and my dad, my brother and his wife and kids and my circus all got together in a summer home in Michigan for a brief trip. It was great, I have zero complaints. I probably had one too many burgers, and steaks, but "when in rome"... I hope everyone had enjoyed the time together as much as I did, and it really seems like that was indeed the case. I think I mastered the art of golf cart driving as well. I was going to bring the bike to get some miles in but decided it wasn't necessary, and landed up getting a good 7 mile run in with my brother instead. His marathon training is really paying off, and it shows in the quality of his workouts. It's too bad he can't touch me on the hills ;) The only bummer was I brought my scope up there (after I cleaned off the dust from it laying dormant for far too long) but the full moon washed out what could have been some nice dark skies. Not a big deal, and if anything reminded me that my interest in Astronomy has been neglected for too long. I think it's time to rekindle the interst and reaquaint the boys to a fun hobby. I'm really greatful that we were all together for this trip. It was tricky to plan, and all things considered, THANK GOD we were able to pull it off and have it turn out so nice. To all my regular long time readers, be sure to call your moms, dads, brothers and sisters and tell them you love them today. The todays go by quickly...

going out with a bang

well not necessarily a "BANG", but this week is my final full week of vacation. It is also the first week of football, which means I will be on the field coaching almost every night of the week. I had a goal to get in 1000 miles on the bike this summer, and going into this week I was at about 750. I took advantage of my time off by getting in some good rides. It's been great being able to get a good 50 miler in almost every day :) I even turned yesterday into a big workout day by running a 10 miler with my long time personal manager AFTER getting a hilly route in on the bike. EPIC! All my laundry this week has been workout clothes LOL. Feelin good....
I also finished the chocolate strat, and I have to say it came out GREAT. I'm extremely pleased with my work. I can honestly say that my trial and error thru the years has finally got me to the point of really knowing how to not only finish a guitar body quite nicely, but equally important is the fact I have honed my skills at the all important art of guitar setup and adjustment.


So last night I had the THRILL of playing with "the boy", it was EXCELLENT. He reaffirmed the fact he can really play well, and he makes everything look way easier than it is. When we found a song I could play along to, (Aerosmiths Mama Kin) it sounded great. I am thrilled that we did that. It sounded really good, and I've been really hoping this would happen. Hopefully it's just the beginning of the dual guitar attack of "Ray squared".
So a lot of cool things have been going on this week, and the timing of it all is pretty good. Forget about tomorrow, go for it today...

Truss rod adjustments

So many of my regular readers (LOL) who play guitar have asked how to adjust the relief on a guitar neck. Since I am at that stage in my current guitar building project I thought it would be a good idea to provide some instruction...

Checking Relief

Check your necks relief- Here is a simply way to check the relief in the neck if one doesn't have a straightedge handy... the instrument strung to pitch fret a string on the 1st fret and where the neck meets the body.

Checking Relief
By fretting a string on 2 points we can then use the fretted string as a type of straightedge and get a visual as to how much relief is in the neck.

Measuring the gap between top of fret and bottom of string gives us an indication of how much relief is in the neck.

Now observe the space between the fretted string and the point of greatest relief...usually the 6th or 7th fret depending on the length of the neck. This gap can be measured with a feeler gauge if need be (you can place a capo on the first fret to free up one hand). If there is no gap, this is an indication that the neck is either dead flat or in a backward bow.
If the gap is substantial the truss rod may need to be tightened to reduce excess relief.

Determining the ideal relief The ideal relief for your instruments neck will depend on string gauge, playing style and the instrument itself. Light pickers, jazz musicians and the like may find .004/.006 gives the neck a very fast feel. The necks stiffness and willingness to flex can sometimes interfere with our desires though.
Those who have a moderate to heavy strum, like flappy extra light gauge strings, have a rounder f/b radius etc. may come to realize more relief (say .008-.012) may be necessary so that the strings can avoid buzzing.

metal gods defined....

yes I am...

As many of my regular readers (LOL) know, I've been rebuilding a guitar recently. With one ofthe boys being a rather accomplished guitarist, I thought it would be a great idea to rebuild it with him. I decided to do one part a day with him so he wasn't overwhelmed and it didn't get boring with an all day event and too much information. At first he was a bit aprehensive because let's face it, when your a teenager you ALWAYS have something better to do then to spend time with your dad. NOTE to teens everywhere - get over that reasoning and spend time with your dad -he will appreciate it way more than you understand... So each day we've had our 15 minute class, and as it's progressed I've noticed more and more interest in doing it with me :) Just the other day while we were working, something came up about guitar builders (Luthiers) and he told me I AM a luthier... Funny, even though I took a building class a couple years ago and know how to set up electric guitars and all the details that go along with it, I never considered myself (until he mentioned it) a guitar builder. so personal discovery thanks to my boy - YES I AM....

The guitar is coming along beautifully and I plan on finishing it this weekend. Just in time for vacation :)

I finished the tour!

Well with my eyes... This past year we FINALLY took the plunge and ordered cable TV. Funny story, back in the 90s we would subscribe to cable TV in late June, watch the
Tour de France coverage, and cancel the service in the fall. Crazy... So this year the coverage on the Versus network was plentiful. One thing led to another and I managed to watch a majority of EVERY stage. Before it started, I picked Andy Schleck as my favorite to win. Not far off... Great racing this year. Even though I may not be the biggest Armstrong fan, there is no doubt that his comeback to the sport, and ultimate 3rd place podium finish are nothing short of incredible.He even rode diplomatically on the team never being the agressor if Contador was part of the equation. And Contador? ALLEZ Alberto! When he flexed his muscle ONLY Andy Schleck could respond. Great racing!

whatever it takes. 50 good ones!

I did NOT want to go to work yesterday. I was off Monday which basically delayed the "Monday blues" by one day. So while having breakfast I decided to ride to and from work on the single speed road bike. I have to admit it did make a difference, and on the way home the frazzled stress level I was feeling melted away as the ride continued. So since this week is a somewhat busy one, I decided to make the ride time worth while. I added another 20 miles by heading out toward the Palos area. I actually decided to hit the horse trails for a few miles. Climbing the up and down sections of loose rock, dirt and gravel on a single speed road bike made for a way cool ride. Thank God for "coping with life thru riding"
Allez!