firebird (literally!)

[burt_toast]

my freebie '91 firebird V. this thing came to me, much like my SG: bad headstock break--un-gluably bad, also fretboard binding smashed/frets mangled/chuck of ebony(it was a celebrity model)missing, and control cavity wonky as well(darn top jacks).

made a new headstock, fixed everything else. since it's for me, and its collectibility is compromised, i'm refinishing it as a kind of faded tea burst (or in my case, ALE burst!), since i didn't like the black much.

Gibson made about 200 of these between '91-'93 and used really dark mahogany on this one, cuz all the yellow dye in the world couldn't brighten it much - hence the 'faded' burst. got all the hardware, too(gold). anybody have a set of 6-on-a-side lefty gold klusons lyin' around? ;) NOT puttin' those heavy banjo keys back on (one was damaged anyway).

8 coats of nitro lacquer so far, probably stop at 12-15. more pix when done.

cheers,
scott

[tubenit]

That is very cool!

Tubenit

[burt_toast]

thanks tubenit,
i swear, the hardest part about finish work is letting it hang there for 3 weeks before the wetsand. i should be shooting the last coats right before our UK trip, so that'll help.

you can't see it in those pics, but the head stock i made has all the correct mahog-walnut-mahog layers lined up just right. and it might be sacrilegious, but the round hole visible on the top of the body is for a master volume pot; it'll come through the pickguard just below the bridge, but not quite as close as a strat. the old-guy-channel-switching works so well with the boost pedal, i gotta have a reachable knob, the gibson vols/tones are so far back for that.

can't wait,
scott

[eleventeen]

I am curious as to how you repaired the headstock...if you have a way to pictorialize it. Guitar looks beautiful! I had a (real) Fbird VII once. It was a big guitar, meaning overall length. Heavy, too, as I recall. My tendency would be to put either locking Schallers on it or Grovers. Not that fond of Klusons....but the only ones I have ever owned were 25 years old when I got them. Lotss and lots of old Strats, back in the day, and recently, all of which I have sold off.

[burt_toast]

maybe the more correct fix would have been a sort of 'reverse scarf' joint - where you cut straight under the fingerboard up to the 3rd or 4th fret, and then angle back out to the neck under the nut. mechanically, that would be the headstock wedging into the joint. i opted for a really long conventional scarf (to the 4th fret i think-it's at work now), so i'm at the mercy of a good glue joint. also added a volute, which adds much-needed wood right at that angle/truss rod cavity. no idea why gibson doesn't (always) do this - i've fixed so many broken gibson headstocks over the years, and replaced a few like this one, where there's no good re-glue option.

yeah, i hear ya eleventeen: there are certainly better keys than klusons, i just like the greenish keystone buttons and need something light weight - really want this to be well-balanced. i'll probably order gotohs (kluson-style) from stew mac.

will post a few relevant photos if i can find 'em.

cheers,
scott

[jjasilli]

I am curious as to how you repaired the headstock...if you have a way to pictorialize it. . .

Google scarf joint; headstock repair.  Lots of info on the web.  This is a fabulous woodworking & re-finish job!  Congrats!

[burt_toast]

almost there... after hanging there for 3 weeks, wet-sanded, buffed, and reassembled. just waiting on discretionary cash for lefty gold keys.

cheers,
scott

ps, will post audio/video when done.