Doing Things Wrong

Website Improvements

... consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds ...

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I re-worked the default WordPress TwentySixteen theme into something far better. Not only is the display much more streamlined and compact, but the code behind it as well. The people who design these things overkill them into an unmanageable mess. Most of what I did was simply deleting miles and miles of repetitive unnecessary css spaghetti code and replacing it with just a few new lines. Most developers seem to think that more code is better. That is so wrong.

Mosrite Bass

This post needed some color. I think the new layout looks and works great on everything from my hi-rez laptop to my tablet to my phone. While I was at it, I bulked-up the menu system and then deleted it, as well as the header image. That way you get right to the meat of things, without having to scroll every page past a lot of useless eye-candy. I also started a links page. Finally, I folded my custom navigation plugin into the theme, so that it can't be accidentally disabled.

Kubicki bodies

I also did some work on these. I think everything looks great !!!


image

In addition to my alternative marker dots, I'm also looking for 'non-luthier' alternatives to side markers, and here is one. These are bits of 3/32" brass rod, set in a piece of scrap maple as a test. Foot-long lengths of 3/32" and 1/16" rod are available from hobby shops for around a buck; they are used by model builders. I pre-drilled the holes, tapped the rod in like a nail, and cut it off slightly proud. Working the brass is just like dressing fret ends, in fact, you could do it at the same time. I also found some aluminum rods on eBay. At the size of a dot, aluminum should come out looking just like pearl. This is like Danelectro used to do back in the '60s. Steel would be much harder to work, and also prone to corrosion, so I wouldn't use ordinary nails, but small brass ones would work. Always pre-drill hardwoods. I pushed in a dimple with a pointed scribe, then deepened it with a spring punch before drilling. Chuck the drill bit so just a 1/4" protrudes. That will keep it from flexing, which can be a problem at these sizes.

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