NR T-bird make-over

[JIO]

Nice project!

On the pickguards, it might be worth checking with Scott Dasson @godofthunder59 as he had some with the bird embossed IIRC.



One detail, Fender didn't overspray the decals yet in '66. The headstocks did have clear nitro which did yellow but the decals went over them. Didn't start seeing oversprayed decals until after Fender went to poly starting roughly '68 (and would still do nitro on the headstock face for better compatibility with the decals).

Thanks for the clarification -

 

[Dynacord]

I do belly cuts exactly the same way, with sawing and chiseling.

Interesting alternative method:

I recall watching a Fender or G&L factory tour vid where they had a curved & angled jig set up on a big industrial band saw and they just sent the body through slicing the belly bevel in one shot.

Mark Grant has replicated this. He has good videos demonstrating it in action on his Instagram and Facebook pages.

 

[Bugspray]

IIRC this version of the Bach Bird had a different pickguard fitment. I'm not sure but I think that Scott makes a direct replacement.

 

[JIO]

IIRC this version of the Bach Bird had a different pickguard fitment. I'm not sure but I think that Scott makes a direct replacement.

I ordered the white one, but then canceled the order after placing a tracing of a '68 NR pg on the Bach. I'll look into Scotts version or will cut my own. It appears that the Bach pu placement is consistent with the Gibson, it's just bigger.

 

[Fender_Bender]

I recall watching a Fender or G&L factory tour vid where they had a curved & angled jig set up on a big industrial band saw and they just sent the body through slicing the belly bevel in one shot.

That is the fastest way from doing it for sure. I saw a Pakistani guy running a bandsaw all day making cricket bats, and he was doing angled stuff like that free hand and very quickly.

 

[JIO]

That is the fastest way from doing it for sure. I saw a Pakistani guy running a bandsaw all day making cricket bats, and he was doing angled stuff like that free hand and very quickly.

That Fender Factory 1959 vid that's on YouTube shows the bandsaw guy cutting out bodies from a stack of slabs. Less than couple minutes tops on each.

 

[God's Favorite Bass]

I'm learning some stuff here. I would have been forming the belly cut with a wood rasp for the better part of a day. 4 hours and 5 blisters later...

 

[JIO]

I'm learning some stuff here. I would have been forming the belly cut with a wood rasp for the better part of a day. 4 hours and 5 blisters later...

I've done straight-on rasp bevels - on softer wood (roasted swamp ash, basswood) I use the saw to mark the stoping point and instead of chiseling material away - I would just rasp to the lines. That works too.

 

[Fender_Bender]

I'm learning some stuff here. I would have been forming the belly cut with a wood rasp for the better part of a day. 4 hours and 5 blisters later...

One advantage in chopping out the waste in chunks is less dust in the air.

 

[JIO]

One advantage in chopping out the waste in chunks is less dust in the air.

Especially with power tools- which for sculpting I don't use. Routing & sanding are usually the biggest cause of fine dust that gets everywhere. For routing I have a vacuum going near-by.

 

[JIO]

Off to Pat's -

 

[dagrev]

Off to Pat's -

View attachment 5165123

Excellent! And you used Fedmess, right?

 

[JIO]

Excellent! And you used Fedmess, right?

...yah, no.

 

[Basvarken]

A pickguard that has the same outline as a real Gibson pickguard will not work.
Especially the little tail end near the volume pot will have to be slightly fatter to cover up the screw hole of the BaCH pickguard.

 

[JIO]

A pickguard that has the same outline as a real Gibson pickguard will not work.
Especially the little tail end near the volume pot will have to be slightly fatter to cover up the screw hole of the BaCH pickguard.

Yes, accounted for.

 

[JIO]

Pat nails it once again - a very pretty warm white that alludes to an aged white Gibson finish, but not as yellow.

 

[JIO]

Set-neck gap gone. All pg screw-holes gone also.

Gold knobs, bridge and vintage string-stop/tailpiece installed. Depending on available light, the warm white can look different. Warm light makes for a more 'yellowed' appearance. In person, it looks more like the pics above.

As clearly illustrated here - a predominance of the brighter white pg material makes the camera lens adjust which makes the body white look more yellow.

Vintage-style reverse-wind Gotoh tuners installed - great quality - smooth as silk.

Frets dressed/polished - not much wear, like new!

Finger-board cleaned & stained darker w/walnut Jeld' stain - looks much better.

Control cavity and pu cavity fully shielded w/copper tape. Both cavities were also star-grounded for silent operation.

Signed off -

Late '60s Gibson T-bird pu installed, bridge saddles intoned, action nice and comfortable, tug bar cut and installed (traced off my '64 II tb) Waiting for screws ordered to fully secure the pg. I'm using period correct small (#2) Gibson round-head screws. I will also drill holes for a pu & bridge cover - I have both from my '64 II.

Roto Swing Bass strings installed -

 

[JIO]

I used this pic of a '68 T-bird IV for location of the pg cover and bridge cover. (and tug-bar)

Lookin' vintage! You can buy a repo of the bridge cover (for $25) EBAC-N Custom Nickel Gibson EB-3/0® Style Bass Ashtray Pickup/Bridge Cover | eBay on eBay, or an original late '60s bridge cover for just under $400. These are from my '64 II, and I also have a bridge cover off my '68 EB3. The pu cover is another story - I don't know if they do a repo and I never see a vintage one for sale. Imagine what the asking price would be for that!

 

[5StringBlues]

drool

 

[Flamingo21]

The gold knobs don't do it for me. Otherwise, a fantastic look!