ThunderB*stard 5-string, short scale, headless build.

[6feet7]

As I only tend to play short scale 5 stringers nowadays I’m limited in choice unless I want to pay far more than my bank balance and my ability allows. I’ve also got an extremely soft spot for Rickenbacker and Thunderbird shaped basses, so when I saw LouieM had an Epiphone bolt on neck Thunderbird for sale I hatched a plan.

Firstly I had to get it without my better half commenting on me getting yet another bass, so Louie and I met up at Reading services on my family’s return from holiday in Cornwall (having an all female family means that pee stops have to be built into every trip). Whilst they all went in, LouieM and I did the dirty deed outside Greggs (he’d very kindly removed the neck and stuck everything in a bin bag so I could shove it in the boot without it being noticed).

Today everything got removed and my first task was to sand a forearm chamfer whilst I wait for a ‘63 Thunderbucker pickup to arrive from the USA and a Squier bass V1 neck also to be delivered (which has pretty much the same dimensions as my Ibanez AGB205 short scale). 
Once these have arrived I can start measuring and can then sort out making it headless. 
Here’s  the very first photos. I hope my woodworking skills are up to the job

Edited August 9, 2022 by 6feet7

[Daz39]

Hah: 4 females in my family and I’m the one who needs the most frequent loo breaks!

 

nice bit of wood!

[Andyjr1515]

Excellent!

[BreadBin]

Here's a long-scale version I cobbled together. It has more dive than a submarine! 

[6feet7]

On 03/08/2022 at 16:22, BreadBin said:

Thats why I'm going short scale headless

I've filled in the bridge pickup cavity, bridge stud holes and one pot hole with some old mahogany window sill I had lying around. Cut the lip from the end of the neck cavity and am about to route a 2 cm deeper neck cavity for the short scale conversion. Had a new nut made for the neck and slightly enlarged the neck pickup cavity for the Thunderbucker that arrived the other day, along with a wiring harness from our own KiOgan. The headless bridge and head end attachments are on their way on the slow boat from China. Pictures coming soon.

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by 6feet7

[6feet7]

Photos of what I said I’d done (above).

Don’t look too closely at my routing. It’s the first time I’ve ever done it and I’m sure some veneer can fill any gaps that might show when I’ve fitted the neck.

 

Edited August 3, 2022 by 6feet7

[6feet7]

All primed up and first coat of paint. All the imperfections have now shown up (thought I’d got them all sanded away

Got to resand the front of the body and start again (bugger)

[6feet7]

 

New plan. I wanted to do either a 70's paisley wallpaper finish or an aqua swirl finish. I've just found a poster of aqua swirl, so I've ordered it and will do a wallpaper style finish with that (not only is it roughly what I was thinking of anyway, but once I've sanded out the majority of the imperfections the poster will cover anything left. I was spraying with metallic silver grey gun metal paint, so I'll still have that as the edge burst.

Oh, I forgot. Headstock has been hacked off and the first tuner hole that was left, plugged. I've sort of made it the shape of the lower bout of a thunderbird to attempt to keep the design process similar (dahrling).

Edited August 12, 2022 by 6feet7

[LouieM]

This is looking great, glad to see someone using that bass for something

[6feet7]

2 hours ago, LouieM said:

This is looking great, glad to see someone using that bass for something

Thanks for selling it to me

 

[6feet7]

Sorted out the paintwork, but as it's about to be covered with a paper poster I'm not too worried except for the edges. Talking of the paper poster, it arrived this morning. I've already cut it to shape but I'm not doing anything else until I've the time do do it properly. The 5 string headless bass bridge has also arrived. Unfortunately I hadn't measured properly and the string spacing is too wide for the neck (so it will be for sale on here very soon, probably at a great loss to me financially  Instead I've ordered individual headless bass tuners that (according the the advert) are 10mm wide each (rather than the 15mm wide ones on my Ibanez 1005SMS). This should work (says he crossing everything he has).

Anyway, here's the bass with it's metallic gunmetal finish, and then a mockup of the swirl finish wallpaper that is going to be stuck to both the front and back.

 

OK. Update. Screwed up the poster. I think because it wasn't proper wallpaper and I put too much paste on it the pattern came off when I just touched it, so new 'proper wallpaper' has been ordered.

Edited August 18, 2022 by 6feet7

[6feet7]

New wallpaper now stuck to the body. It's a perfect match for the gunmetal colour that is going to be the 'burst'. I'm leaving it to dry for several days before feathering the edges and then doing the 'burst' (I've learnt not to rush things, which is why I screwed up the previous wallpaper effort). Just waiting for the bridge to arrive from China (hoping I've measured properly this time and don't end up with two lots of 'the wrong size' headless bass bridges).

Edited August 22, 2022 by 6feet7

[6feet7]

Bodged the finish - it ain't a pro job in any way, shape or form, but I like it.

The wallpaper was embossed, so unless I put 200 coats of lacquer on it was never going to be smooth, so we have a smooth, textured finish. My burst is iffy at best, so you are never going to see this for sale on here as a perfect finish.

I've still got the bridge and headstock attachment to fit but it's close to the end (I hope).

Edited August 31, 2022 by 6feet7

[NancyJohnson]

 

On 31/08/2022 at 14:35, 6feet7 said:

 

 

 

I don't want to pour scorn onto this project unnecessarily - and not wanting to disappoint - but you've done your measurements, right?  Sometimes simply screwing everything together doesn't work.

 

The bolt-on Thunderbird neck pocket is fairly deeply recessed into the body and granted I'm only doing measurements off the photo above and concluded what I've posted below.  Assuming the short scale length is 31/32" (if it was a four string), won't the bridge be hanging off the back of the body?  You've effectively lost 2-3 inches off the neck length, you're using the existing neck pocket rout and to compound things, if you're going with a five string the low B will require an even longer throw than the assumed E-string scale.

 

The reason the Thunderbird/Fender neck hybrid worked was because the two instruments shared (pretty much) the same scale length and the Fender neck is fairly easily accommodated by the Epiphone rout. 

 

[6feet7]

12 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

 

I don't want to pour scorn onto this project unnecessarily - and not wanting to disappoint - but you've done your measurements, right?  Sometimes simply screwing everything together doesn't work.

 

The bolt-on Thunderbird neck pocket is fairly deeply recessed into the body and granted I'm only doing measurements off the photo above and concluded what I've posted below.  Assuming the short scale length is 31/32" (if it was a four string), won't the bridge be hanging off the back of the body?  You've effectively lost 2-3 inches off the neck length, you're using the existing neck pocket rout and to compound things, if you're going with a five string the low B will require an even longer throw than the assumed E-string scale.

 

The reason the Thunderbird/Fender neck hybrid worked was because the two instruments shared (pretty much) the same scale length and the Fender neck is fairly easily accommodated by the Epiphone rout. 

 

I've done my measurements. I've rerouted the neck pocket, and the neck was from a 6 string squier v1. The bridge saddle will be just behind the volume control. It'll all fit

Edited September 2, 2022 by 6feet7