Almost a Collection! :) :)

I have spoken to many people over the years of collecting and more recently have been asked if I had a Web Site.
One of the things I have wanted to do for many years, is to learn how to create a web site - to get my head around how to make one interactive and interesting and to unravel the mysteries of being a Web Designer - sort of a creative challenge.
I am playing around with some software but for the time being, I
shall continue the details on this blog.Why "Almost a collection"?
Well, this was a comment made by a friend I had not seen for a while and after detailing the instruments I had at the time, he laughed and said "Blimey, that's almost a collection". I thought his comment was quite amusing and in stuck in the back of my mind.
When I started laying down some ideas, this conversation came to mind and I thought that it was quite appropriate - after all, what quantity constitutes a collection?

So, here goes, hang on tight and I will lead you through the list, starting with how it all began.

Now, I have to say at this point, I still only had a very small amount of experience and what I set about doing makes me shudder, even now.
Again, this is all from memory but it is still pretty clear in my mind.

It was not long after the Hypercaster project was finished and I was after something else to do, something I could get my teeth into.
Sadly, from memory, it took ages and frustration was begining to set in!
Eventually, something did happen, in the way of a set up for another friend. 

He had a "Woolies Special" that he was struggling with and gave it to me after I had pestered him for weeks.The action was very high and it wasn't too difficult to work out that lowering the bridge would bring the strings closer to the fretboard.
Having done that, the strings buzzed on a few of the frets.
So, knowing nothing about truss rods or neck relief, I thought the easiest thing to do was to file down the offending frets, with the smallest file I could find in my dad's kit.
"Mmm, that's odd - that fret doesn't buzz anymore but the next one does!"
Perhaps I'll file that one. Now the next one and the next (you can see where 

this is going!) until after some time, most had been filed.
To my horror, it was worse than before - perhaps more filing was required.
Common sense, or panic, made me stop at this point.
I confided in an older friend that I was having a "bit of trouble" and he said, "oh, that's dead easy, you need to run a flat sharpening stone over them"
Aha, the dark art has been revealed.
This is what I did, very nervously and very carefully and to my relief, it worked.
Not knowing anything about finishing and polishing frets, they were left as they were.

I returned it to my friend, who was very pleased that it was a lot easier to play.
What a relief. So, Paul Harris, if you are still out there, that is the real story!
I learned a great deal from that experience and decided that for the time being, I would practice on what was mine!

Flat Eric.