Ed,

Vision does not have to be on paper!  "Just floating around in one's head for a
while" is still vision.

To complete a project, five things are required.  
1) Time
2) Tools
3) Skills
4) Materials
5) A vision in your head, _and in your heart_ of what you are trying to create.
Recording and refining this on paper can be a useful step, but it's not
absolutely necessary.

Some of the five can be purchased, but just having money is not the same as
having what you need; some materials and skilled labor are difficult to buy.

Sometimes the availability of certain materials drives vision.  We've all
experienced being inspired by an awesome hunk of wood.

You, Ed, are very, very clearly capable of a level vision that I, for one, lack!
That metal-front guitar proves it!

Design talent is hard to define, but the results are readily recognizable.  For
example, your guitars!

Not everyone has it.

John Ruth