Thanks again guys - I should have more progress over the holidays as I'll be around the shop for 4 days or so. Why not EMG's though? My other option would be a pair of Duncan JB-7's.
Levelhead - In the pic with the fretboard with the naptha on it, you can also see my "shooting board" (not sure why it's called that....). It rides on the slots on top of the tablesaw and has a slot cut thru it. You can see the teeth of the slotting saw peeking out. I put doublesided tape on the one of the panels so the fretboard would stick in the proper spot.
I dig the nice cheap Black and Decker - no complaints at all so far! I also built an 8 string that you can check out
here.