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I have finally started on my TB-4 which was a Christmas present. My plan for this is to create a pigeon pair (or big brother) for my FBM-1. I will use FW stains to create a tobacco like burst. Then coat with tru-oil. Today hopefully I will get to reshape the headstock as drawn.
The logo on the pick guard is a laser printed image covered with packing tape.
Reshaped the headstock and created a 3-ply laminate for the headstock. I still need to round over the edge of the laminate with wet and dry.
Your laser printed images are looking good.
I was going to post in the swap/trade/unload threads that I have a large unopened bottle of tru oil I wanted to swap for enough satin poly to do a neck. Since you’re planning on using tru oil I thought I’d run it by you.
Did you do the laser printing yourself? I have a graphic that I would like to put on the pickguard fo my TB-4 but have no idea how to do this!
Hi DarkMark. Thanks. Re Tru-oil - Sorry to say that I have a bottle and a half.Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkMark
Hi Chriz,Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrizK
Yes I did do it myself. It must be laser printed (not inkjet). Just printed the image on normal paper. Covered it with packing tape (clear tape - we call it sticky tape in Oz!). Cut out the shape. Placed it in water for 10 minutes. Carefully rubbed the soggy paper off the tape under gently running water - making sure all the paper was removed and not to rub the printed part too much. Stuck it on the pick guard. Wiped off as much moisture from under the sticker with tissue paper. (Some folks then clear coat the pickguard to help it stay put).
I think there is also a forum discussion on this!
I'm not sure if it will last very well. Saying that, my Firebird logo still looks good after 6 months. I also used it for the logo on my pine wood explorer (it did take quite a few coats of tru-oil to cover it!!)
No worries, sounds like you have more than enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by Trevor Davies
Stained the neck and body using FW stains. Body is jarrah with black, and the neck is golden teak. So far have 25 coats of tru-oil , sanded back with 1200 grit and given two more coats. I will start working my way up through the micro mesh pads.
Today I created a template for a TB truss rod cover - trying to keep it similar to the original design (which is normally difficult to see). The truss rod cover is to go on top of the black head stock cover. I could not decide on the colour so I made 3 different ones! The white may look good with the white pick guard. I think I will decide when putting it together.
Looking good and you’ve got your options covered 👍
Fitted the tuners. Soldered the electronics ready to go in. Just needing a few more sands with higher grit and some final coats of tru-oil.
A question about the 3 pin bridge - is it meant to sit flush to the body, or above the body to get the best intonation?
The three point bridge, the inserts don't sit flush to the body but kinda sit proud because there is no counter bore for the rim of the inserts. the bridge kinda floats off the surface, which is kinda dubious. I think Just about every one who has used the three point bridge who has posted here has complained about very high action. You could counter bore the holes and replace the bridge with a three point full contact. Can be a bit spendy. The Babicz bridge is a realy nicely engineered piece of kit, but I had to reduce the diameter of the attachment screws that came with it because the two holes at the back were just that tiny bit closer together than the bridge would like.Quote:
Originally Posted by Trevor Davies
BTW the orange on the bevel of the headstock looks very tastefull :) .
I bought a Hipshot replacement bridge for my ES-4B bass (that JimC eventually took over and finished) as the kit bridge was so poor that it was never going to work on that bass (especially with the archtop body shape). That is designed to sit flat on to the body. https://hipshotproducts.com/collecti...acement-bridge They aren't cheap, but they are good. Similar price to the Babicz bridge. If it wasn't for the wide spacing of the two rear mounting holes, it would be an easy job to just fit a more standard replacement chunky bass bridge.
I did the final assembly yesterday.
To be proactive about the high action issue with the three point bridge I put 2 layers of plastic shims at the base of the neck before screwing it on. All went well. I can get a good preliminary string height with the bridge raised about 5 mm from its lowest position. So no problems with the bridge.
I also assembled all the electronics. I had NO sound for a while and when I touched the strings an increase in static noise was heard from the amp. Finally I realised I had trimmed the PUP shielding/green wire too much and the green wire was not bare and was not being grounded. LOL! I realised this after checking the ground circuit with a multimeter, and checking the hot circuit, and then checked the PUP resistance to find it was to large to measure. Anyway, no damage done.
Rough tuned the strings and adjusted the truss rod the get a slight concave shape.
Today I adjusted the neck, set string height and did an initial intonation. I will recheck it tomorrow.
Final Assembly photos:
Looks lovely!
Love that headstock
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I was just thinking the same thing. Nice work TD.Quote:
Originally Posted by dozymuppet
Thanks Simon, Dozy and DarkMark.
I'm not a bass player, but She is playing quite well. The neck is nice, but she does nose dive :(.
So I have now got my Pigeon pair.
Very cool set!
Really cool colour/ material scheme!
Yeah, I like the shape but a non-reverse Thunderbird gives you a longer top horn to attach the strap to counter the nose dive, it just doesn't have the same character. :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Trevor Davies
The non_reverse body just looks wrong :( with the reverse body I think a lot also depends one how you play. The Explorer bass suffers similar neck dive for exactly the same reason. Less of an issue for me because my arm is resting on the rear horn and acts as a lever to counter the head dive. You could probably do the same with the T-bird, which by the way has turned out very nice :cool:.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers