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Whilst I decide to do with the headstock issue, I
begin to treat the metal parts and relic them artificially.
The Bigbsy, although bought 2nd hand it was as good
as new. First step was to remove the paint that originally covers it
Then I begin to treat the metal sheets with different substances that attack metals. One has to be careful with these as depending on the material they react differently to different chemicals. Another point to consider is that the relic is not achieved quickly, but the materials have to be treated several times in order for them to have a natural "old" and "used" appearance.
You can´t fake the passing of several decades in a few minutes, but you can in a few days
The Bigsby is made out of several different metals, among them chrome steel, aluminum, stainless steel, etc. This makes the relic´ing more difficult, as to each metal a different chemical and treatment has to be applied, and use different "tricks" to get an optimum result to get from this
to this.
One must be really patient when working on the metals, as we have to leave the chemicals work on them on different stages. To do it all at once, the results wouldn´t be optimal as expected.
Detail of the relic´ing
I took the opportunity to leave a similar dent as in Old Black´s Bigsby. You can see here some of the metals that the bridge contains and their different reactions and patina
In some pics of Old Black, it can be observed how the top end of the Bigsby handle shows a copper-ish colour. My theory and interpretation of this fact is that at the time the Bigsby was installed, it didn´t had a stainless steel handle like a current production Bigsby. This shows a great improvement over the old one as the sweat and the normal wear of the use with the hand slowly wears out the finish. Stainless steel was not so commonly used at the time but chromed metals were used regularly.
A more durable way of plating entailed copper-plating the steel piece before the chrome-plating. This was being done electrolytically the same way as chrome-plating but with the advantage that copper adheres more easily to steel than chrome and also to nickel. It´s like the perfect transition for this type of work as it´s more durable. Nowadays this method still is in use for precision parts/machinery and others.
The Bigsby handle in Old Black shows in the tip the signs of long time use and abuse. Because of this, the chrome and nickel are worn out and the copper can be seen.
Regrettably stainless steel doesn´t have any protective cover, so the more it´s used the more polished the piece will get, and this prevents us to recreate this effect... but as I can´t leave it like this, I devised an easy but very effective solution, which was to weld a piece of copper onto the tip of the handle. I could´ve glued it, but it wouldn´t show the effect i was looking after, so i started
Once welded I simulated the use with sand paper and files...
The bridge is now relic´d and very similar to Old Black´s. Now the owne will have to add his own "touch" to acquire the original appearance even more
I have finally decided to remove the acrylic surface of the headstock, which appeared to be layers of tinted paper with black epoxi, similar as to carbon fibre is made, and I will replace it for a Honduran mahogany top.
Curiously, you can see there is a very noticeable difference in the grain of the wood between the Honduran mahogany and the mahogany currently employed by Gibson
Working on the headstock
in order to insert the original manufacturer´s logo
I prepare the perimeter of the Gibson lettering
Same with the crown inlay, this way the guitar will look much like the ´53 original mop inlays
I make the instertion of the logos with black epoxi, as the headstock will also be black in its entirety, then i leave to harden.
In the meantime, i cut the shapes of the back plates in duraluminum.
With the lathe I work on them to give them the exact shape and drill the holes
Then I make sure everything fits ok
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