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...

Welcome to the forum Chris!

Look forward to seeing how “The Blackbird” progresses. Best of luck, if you strike issues, post up your questions here in your diary, with photos if you can and the BYOG rescue advice and commiseration service will kick into gear!

enjoy the ride!

Welcome Chris. Good luck with the build.
There are a couple of TB-4 builds happening at the moment on in the forum. It is also my next build.

Welcome Chris

Welcome Chriz

Thanks for the welcome!

Thanks for the welcome and for listing these for me - I will be checking these out regularly!

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!

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.

Very interested in this ebonising treatment. I've not seen it before.

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It is surprisingly easy (if you are careful) and looks amazing afterwards. The fretboard has now been olied and looks exactly as I hoped, ebony black with the merest hint of variation in colout that makes it look like real ebony. I will post photos once I have finished oiling the neck and fiddling with the headstock.

Can we get a post oiling shot? Very intrigued by this.

Day ? (well I've spent most evenings working on this so let's call it Week 2!)

I couldn't wait so started oiling the neck (never did have any patience...). It is coming up very well. I put on 2-3 coats of BLO and then knock it back and start again. The wood of the neck was SO thirsty, I suspect that it has been kiln dried. Felt validated in my descision to oil the neck as a result.

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The neck is now so slick and smooth you feel like you could shred on it (pity its for a bass). I oiled the fretboard too but not so much, I don't want this shiny but rather with just a slight sheen.

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My only disappointment is that I had not realised that the neck joint would become so visible with the change in grain. However, this is mellowing in with additional coats and I am coming to terms with it - it is honest and displays the construction. There are more coats to go yet and more sanding back... so this may be less apparent at the finish but either way I'm OK with it.

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Today, I start on the construction of a small spray booth/screen so that I can start spraying the body (my wife, a methodical person, tells I should have done this first but where's the fun in that?).

I have not been in a hurry because it is freezing here (Ireland), so not the weather for spraying (especially as I have to do this in my garage with the door open!).

So, a mixed week, but on balance a good one. Came up with a left-field plan for the scratchplate which I will be keen to share (if it works - if it doesn't, there may just be an ominous silence... ;)

Week 3

So far attempts to create an headstock veneer as per the example at the beginning of this thread. Firstly, I couldn't find ebony in a large enough sheet without it being too thick (I have no thicknesser). So... I tried fibreboard (a la Gibson). This was thin enough and available in the right size but is evil stuff to work with! I now have the beginnings of a headstock veneer but I don't like it.

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Once finished, the material will still require several coats of black and clear lacquer to make it look anything like I am hoping for so it is back to the drawing board...

Hi Chriz,
Not sure why you don't like it!

I'm going to try a similar head stock thing with my TB-4 kit - which I pulled out the box yesterday. I'm going to try using 3 ply pick guard material. I tested the thickness and should still be able to fit the tuners properly. I briefly contemplated routing the headstock pattern on using a template guide (still a possible backup).

FWIW I had success with 1-ply pick guard material on the headstock of my AG-2 kit.

I have found it very dificult to shape accurately as the material is very hard and has a tendency to burr at the edges. I am to try again with a wood veneer ebonised to match the fretboard. I'll post pictures.

I like the pick-guard solution too , I would go for single ply black (the Bass is going to be 'The Blackbird' so the white in a 3-ply would stand a littel too much and detract from my headstock logo plan.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ChrizK

I have found it very dificult to shape accurately as the material is very hard and has a tendency to burr at the edges. I am to try again with a wood veneer ebonised to match the fretboard. I'll post pictures.

I like the pick-guard solution too , I would go for single ply black (the Bass is going to be 'The Blackbird' so the white in a 3-ply would stand a littel too much and detract from my headstock logo plan.

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Hi Chriz, you could get plain black pickguard in 3-ply. That may give you the thickness you are after! I found the 1-ply very thin.