That sucks, but don't play yourself down.
You'd be up against someone who constantly smacks himself on every doorframe ever.
And I don't mean brush against, I mean arm, shoulder, sometimes a brush against the side of the head.
So trust me, unless it's very wide, open space, you'll catch up in no...
That's one of the finest LPs I've ever seen and I'm not ashamed to say I hope we never meet, because I'd be tempted to just take it and run away, which I know would end very poorly for me and I still wouldn't be able to stop myself from trying.
No idea about the marking though, but I'm sure...
I can see the opening from here, and it's more than big enough.
Also, if they were indeed hermetically sealed, then cleaning wouldn't be necessary unless material from the pot itself was being scraped around, in which case you'd have bigger problems anyway.
I can't speak for every channel, but this guy in particular doesn't care if it's Gibson, American or anything else. He just seems to enjoy railing on stuff (amongst other things) and doesn't seem to care who's feathers get ruffled.
It can be quite interesting at times, sometimes not so much...
A regular pot will fit just fine. You can add a piece of wire to make the legs for it, and the holes are huge so you don't need to be particularly precise or experienced to do it.
That guy is an ass. Never let him touch any guitar of yours.
And if you want to replace a pot on a board and all you have are regular ones, just stick it in and wire them to the boards where the PCB-style legs would be. No need to find a new board.
I thought the wing as well, but it's too deep into the headstock. If that's how far inside the wings are, you would also have wings halfway though the neck. I'd go easy on the screws, keep an eye on the crack and have it checked when you can.
Dude, don't beat yourself up over this. You came here looking for help to make yourself better. And most of us have done way worse anyway, but we learned by doing it over and over.
Besides, what's the point of not asking the questions? It's like the old proverb, "[...] It's dumb to ask, cool...