I think you have stepped up to take the responsibility that is yours. He appears to recognize that some is his. If he starts feeling like you should be giving more than you can think about it but unless that happens you have aleardy shown you are a good guy.
Prostheta's comments pretty much sum up my feelings. I would lave to have any of them. I went for Scott's Jusin's guitarbecause that is the one I would pick up first.
I agreee that a setup is in order. Part of that will be filing the nut which as Brian says is too high. That may be all it needs but you should have everything checked out.
I always enjoy your builds. Question, are you going to treat the fretboard in anyway? I wonder as I have always thought that mahogany was too soft for a fretboard.
Wow, most of my working life was as a geologist (before that stopped paying). That top reminds me of hot lava. You have surpassed yourself on this one. If you had asked me before I would have laughed at that idea. Wow! If I win the lottery I am commisioning a bass. Have you done a bass?
I would suggest reporting them to you State Attorney General. If they claim to be selling somthing they don't own, they are commiting fraud. For the intelectual property aspect, if you can write to their server they should take them down.
I sanded to 320. I was under the impression that poplar didn't need grain sealer. It is a rattle can job and it will be a solid color so yes paint primer. I will try sanding with the grain on the end grain. Thanks.
I am new to the finishing end of things. I am working on a poplar bodied tele. I thought I did good prep until I put a layer of primer on. The end grain just sucked it in and I found a few flaws in the face that I could not see in the raw. Is this normal? If so, how do I avoid it?
When you filled the nut you raised it but narrower gauge strings could still be moving in the slot if you didn't get the width right. Also as mentioned Seamusoc, the angle is important. With all the filling I think a new nut may be in order.
You may want to look at harp guitars they were somewhat popular in the 19th Century, particulaly in Germany. Since they predate truss rods they could give you some ideas.