"I have never used the tone knob on any guitar I have ever owned."
What do you do with them? Do you leave them on or off?
I just leave mine on their highest setting and don't really touch them.
How would it affect tone if I were to rewire and bypass the tone pots?
Lookin good Bear! I'd have to agree with the wood being ash. I have always loved that color. I think it was called pewter, but yours looks just as good , if not better. So did you make those decals yourself? They look great.
You shoudn't have to send it to anyone. As long as you have established a center line on the template, the rest should be easy. Most of the templates I have seen on this site or others have a center line on them. Just line that up with the one on the body and it should be fine.