There is some variation in inner and outer ring stack. While 1920-1930 Style 42 and 45 series show a distinct double-width middle black in the BWBWB, as you move closer to the mid-to late 1930's period, that middle ply has less/no variation from the BW and WB plies around it. If replicating a certain guitar, try to find a good rosette shot for that year's guitars to see whether the center ply is that double width.
Also, on the 45 series rosettes we measured, the differences between the inner to middle and middle to outer ring gaps were closer to .020" across 00, 000 and D, with the inner gap at about 0.095" and the outer at about 0.015". Too little difference looks as odd as too much, and the overwhelming number of other builder's faux-45 guitars use equal spacing and look quite odd because of it.
All that aside, I prefer the equal/closer to equal-spaced plies on the later (early 1930's-1942?), but the guys preferred the look of the wider center lam. On their Series 42 guitars, they did CAD renderings to decide on the best spacing re: inner and outer rings...and varied that a bit between 000 and D.
A final consideration is the width of the shell box around the extension, with quite a bit of variance in the amount of black border seen on prototype guitars. Inconsistent width or overlap of the BWB borders a bigger issue than extra width, and we saw enough variation in that width such that a little extra width should not be an issue.
With that in mind, that trim around the board generated a change in build order versus the usual Greenridge OOB, with the body being closed, trimmed, and block sanded, neck joint cut on body and neck, the neck completed and set (as in dry-fitted to desired angle, etc.), then the body bound. This allowed the boxing around the extension to be efficiently laid out and milled based on actual dimensions versus desired/should be.
Edited:
A question: I've been told that the shell used on the original 40 series guitars was green abalone, with paua used only after the 45 was returned to production. On those earlier guitars, it is hard to judge from photos whether the shell is the more colorful paua, muted by ambering/increased opacity of lacquer, or the greyer/cooler blue/green green abalone.
An opinion: Solid shell looks so, so much more authentic than solid shell substitutes. We've seen some replica 42 and 45 series guitars ruined by the busier appearance of substitutes.
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