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A venture into the unknown...
Day 1
After years of contemplating building my own bass, I have finally decided to take the leap and ordered a TB-4. My reasons for prevaricating for so long, stem primarily from my satisfaction with my 1976 Shergold Marathon - she and I have been together so long (from new!) it feels like infidelity to contemplate playing another. However, she now needs some attention and now is the time. Also, if I am honest, a secondary consideration was my abject fear at f***ing it up - Well, if I do, this will be the record of that f***-up!
I received my kit and extras in very quick time, particularly impressive since I live in the North of Ireland! All was in order - I did a rough assembly to see if I had all the parts. My only issue was that the knobs had been packed/come loose and were scuffed.
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However. more amazing service, replacements were sent and arrived within days! Thank you Pit Bull, well impressed so far! :D
My plan is to paint the body black, oil the neck, and ebonise the fretboard. I contemplated a Heritage Cherry finish but then realised that if I painted it black I could call it 'the Blackbird' and that appealed to my sense of humour, so black it is.
I intend to post photos and reports here of each of the various stages (success or disaster) for your information, support and, most likely, amusement. So here goes...
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Day 2 of the Venture and a question for the Forum
Day 2 - Update
I have now sanded back the body, there were a few machining marks to get rid of, and applied a grain filler. My plan is to have a high gloss black finish so I want the body to be as flat as possible. The excess has now been removed and I am waiting for the filler to harden before reaching for the sandpaper once more (I have the feeling that the sandpaper and I will get to know each very well before this is finished!
I am filling the time waiting with research. I would like to reproduce the two-tier headstock cover used by Gibson for the early TB's - the hockey stick faceplate and the overlaid truss rod cover (minus the Gibson logo). However, I cannot find a template for these nor can I find an easily obtainable example. Does anyone know where I might find a template?
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No picture of my work today as this is highly uninteresting!
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Day 3 - Ebonising the fretboard
Day 3 (Working day 3 that is...)
Well, I have decided on the headstock treatment. I am going to apply an ebony veneer and shape this to provide the 'rebated' headstock detail I am looking for. I have taken a template from the headstock and drawn in the 'rebate' to provide a template for the veneer. This required some adjustment as the tuners are closer to the edge of the headstock in the kit neck than they appear to be in original (not that I have a 1964 Gibson Thunderbird to hand).
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For the ebonsing, I used Angelus Leather Dye- this stuff covers unbelievably - the merest dip of the swab and I was able to treat the entire fretboard (I will confess, I practised on an old acoustic first!). Now I must resist the temptation to press on and let this dry before applying the oil finish. Very little bleed past the masking tape - easily addressed by a razor blade - not the case on the practice attempt - but that is what practice is for!
I will, either; hold off on oiling until I have fitted the headstock veneer; Or, keep the headstock masked when oiling the neck. The former is the right thing to do, the second panders to my impatience.
