SO Long with No Necks

It has been a long, long time (CSNY) since I have had any activity here, May I report?

My whole real building shop for guitars and banjos was in $9000 woth of storage, before I at least got the stuff into the garage of my house. But it is about 100 feet from garage to house, and my physical limitations prevent me from just moving it in where with a new "entrance panel" and thus, many more available circuits, I can get the work. My one full-size workbench, set up for an instrument vise, is butcher block and very heavy as is the very well welded up frame upon ehich that beautiful top fastens through inserts and hex-head ordinary bolts.

So, good news/bad news, you have not heard from me. I am working with Mark Hickler on a neck for my very nice maple block-ebony tone ring, getting him started on traditional heel carving and more, and I will be guiding him on honing the miniature 2 Cherries and Pfeil very complete set I am sending, along with dome very high quality stones and Leonard Lee's "bible" on edge shaping and honing. But he is overloaded, and so my neck will have to  wait. I am hoping he can do a "quickie" on a complete old days Stew Mac complete body, and a VN neck I have for open back . The neck is a bit gaudy, but passable for my 2nd line banjo. It just needs 2 lag screws at the correct angle and the 5th string reamed and the 5th nut installed. It is a well fretted neck, and the combination will make for a pretty good open back, that because of its materials and design will likely project well. 

The only major task I wish were possible, would be to have the aluminum body brought to a high polish. I only have a Jet MiniLathe and it does not have the swing. And, frankly, I am too old and lazy to hand work it through 5-7 grits of sandpaper and then the  "Mother's Polish, forever.

The rim is fitted with a resonator ring and in assembling it, I added resonator brackets and I have a nice resonator that when finished would look simple but appropriate.

Help or criticism invited, Mike T.

"Mother's" wheel polishing