Julie, Nice work. I wished I had built a jig for the last time I fretted. Conicidently, I got the StewMac catalogue yesterday. On the cover was Dan Erlewine's new neck jig. Maybe you should market your own.
As far as chambering the body to relieve weight, you're right that you don't chamber it down the line of the neck/body. I have a Les Paul with the chambers. Les Pauls are notorious for being heavy. The 70's, 80's, 90's models could weigh in at over 10 lbs. chambering can put them in the 7-8 lb range. You'll notice the difference. My LP is a joy to play even for long sets (normally I switch guitars fairly often to get the right guitar for the right song). If you didn't know it was chambered, you couldn't tell from the sound or playing. I'd say go for it, though you've already cut away a belly on the back side, so it may be a bit of deminimus return.
Shawn
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