I changed the V over to a bolt-on. I got the neck route just a hair too wide - just enough for it NOT to hold in without support and to have an ounce of play. I'd rather not glue in shims and re-rout because I'm fearful of them showing. I'd rather change the plans than to have it look like I was trying to patch it up.
Because they're supposed to be twins, I'm giving serious consideration to having the bass become a bolt-on as well. The tenon is really long - only an inch or two from the pup - and it fits like a glove so a set neck is still completely feasible. BUT.... then they wouldn't be twins. Bolting it in wouldn't be the worst thing in the world and in my opinion would be largely cosmetic. If I don't bolt it in, I'll always look at it as a fault rather than a feature, mainly because of the 'twins' thing. Oh well.
This is one reason I keep an open mind with my builds. Things happen. You need to be able to adapt rather than blow it up.
On a different note, I started the finishing process on the V. The Explorer will be starting later this afternoon. I'm doing them both in lacquer. No particular reason; I just haven't used it in a while. For the grainfill, I'm sanding back at 220 grit between coats. I'm only brushing on one coat per day, so it should be dry enough to sand back even though it's not dry & cured.
I did some experimentation with colors on some scrap. The original '58s are slightly orange. i experimented with some yellow & orange dyes and some amber shellac. I hit the various shades with lacquer, oil based poly, water-based poly, and clear shellac. I came to the conclusion that the darker color is from age, not some added colors. The newer korina re-issues aren't dark like the originals, so this backs up my conclusion. I believe that were the originals colored, the re-issues would be as well.
I'm still waiting for some pearl dots to come in before I can finish up the necks. They'll simply be polished up to 12,000 and oiled.