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1964 Gibson Firebird I restoration


BCR Greg

Question

This one has had me frazzled, but the end result will be worth it.

Imagine a rare single pickup Firebird I that had a wraparound bridge and little else. Nice, huh?

Well, until it became THIS....

1FB1.jpg

2FB1.jpg

5FB1.jpg

Good LORD! It seems that the previous owner wanted to accent the 22nd fret, for some reason....

3FB1.jpg

And it was a string through?!?!?!

4FB1.jpg

I have my work cut out for me.....(poor choice of words, eh?)

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Hey Uncle Greg you know that a Firebird 1 is my dream guitar ... Hope you have it done in time for my Birthday in August ....

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There are some bad, bad people out there.

That's just wrong.

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Oh Dear God thats awful.

I beg of you to do one of your photo documentaries on that one. I LOVE those things and I'm sure this one will turn out fine.

Will you fill the swimming pool with laminates that match up? Let me know if you need anything for that. I think I might have a source for wood :P .

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+1 for the start of this thread Greg. It was a very friendly decision not to go for Ace Frehley tech work, but rather start this thread for us.

Let's end this up as a nice workshop-blog type thread. This one ought to become a real experts story.

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Oh wow. That's turrible, turrible.

I look forward to the end result!

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That's so wrong on so many levels! Makes me want to ask the perpetrator, 'what was it you had in mind as an end result?'

Can't wait to see the end result. I need that munching popcorn smilie they have on TGP...

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So, what's under the guard?

5FB1.jpg

6FB1.jpg

There is a special place in hell for whoever did this....

7FB1.jpg

Off we go!

Drilling out the "22nd fret ornamentation" is first...Brazilian rosewood shaped into dowel will be used to fill the holes.

8FB1.jpg

The bathtub is squared and a block of 50's Gibson Honduras is shaped to fit.

9FB1.jpg

10FB1.jpg

More to come....

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Dang ... I thought you were going to do it up like Nigel Tufnel's "Mr. Horsepower" EBMM and put four humbuckers in that big hole instead :P

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/bath/I'd say that tone chamber is a perfect resonance-destroyer.

Keep in mind the research Jol and the guys put into development of the chambers for the Talladega Pro. A waste of money. This one does it perfectly. :P

The bathtub too. I just had the idea of finger-jacuzzi on stage. Relax between songs. Greg's just filling it. What a shame. Another great market opportunity is gone. ;)

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Ah, nothing a few quarts of Bondo can't fix...

:P

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I'm amazed that the neck didn't snap off at the heel - just from barometric pressure!

Will you be inserting some sort of reinforcing bars in the neck joint? Carbon fiber? Titanium? Saltine?

May I be the first to suggest Inverness Green as the finish color?

I know, you're going to want to do a transparent color 'cause the repair is going to be invisible.

I can't wait to see it.

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This one has had me frazzled, but the end result will be worth it.

Imagine a rare single pickup Firebird I that had a wraparound bridge and little else. Nice, huh?

Well, until it became THIS....

1FB1.jpg

2FB1.jpg

5FB1.jpg

Good LORD! It seems that the previous owner wanted to accent the 22nd fret, for some reason....

3FB1.jpg

And it was a string through?!?!?!

4FB1.jpg

I have my work cut out for me.....(poor choice of words, eh?)

No pun intended...... ;) that will keep you busy, not as much as Ace would have... :P

There are some bad, bad people out there.

That's just wrong.

yes, there are monsters out there, more than just a horror flick type....

thats just sooo wrong.

But looks like some fun ;)

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Cleaned up the horrible routing and made a fill piece for the area...

11FB1.jpg

12FB1.jpg

I was going for Pelham Blue all along, hence the non sandwich center block.

Murkat, if this looks like fun, I expect you to book a flight soon. We do this all the time.

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I was going for Pelham Blue all along, hence the non sandwich center block.

OK, new Pelham Blue, or are you going to shoot an amber tint clearcoat to green it up a bit?

Very impressive work, Sir.

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