And so it begins ....

[bassduke49]

Yeah. I still like "ChestnutsroastingonanopenFireglo" best. The story behind "Mink" was back in the late '70s I saw a purplish brown sunburst Les Paul and the guy who owned it said the finish was "Mink." I've never seen one like it again. So when I had PW refinish my '72, I described it and got this. More raspberry than I originally wanted, but I liked it. I called it "Mink," but it really isn't minkish, more a berryburst. Your's is gonna look fantastic! Mine is the only Rick I have left and I'll likely be passing it down to a nephew one of these days. I haven't played in years and don't see getting back into it.

[Kiddwad57]

What a project, thanks for sharing the adventure!

[teeder]

I haven't played in years and don't see getting back into it.

That's a bummer, Paul.

I rarely play bass these days also. Preferring to just grab an acoustic to bang on daily, though.

[scott_s]

MinkBloodGlo.

[thx1955]

MinkBloodGlo.

I like it !

[Korladis]

MinkBloodGlo.

What?

[ingloriousoz]

She's coming along real, real nice Jim. Can't wait to see the final result!

[thx1955]

She's coming along real, real nice Jim. Can't wait to see the final result!

Oz, my friend, rest up, get better, take very good care of yourself.

[thx1955]

Badass no more

One of the main reasons I decided to have this 73-4001 worked on was to remove the Baddass abomination from the instrument.
Earlier on in the process when the bridge hardware was removed there remained the extra routing that some previous owner decided was a good idea

At last this is being addressed

Bridge profile layout

The profile outlined is for the new V2 Rickenbacker bridge, which just about covers the hole that was routed to accommodate the BadAss
I was tempted (and do have) an original 73 aluminum split tailpiece which I seriously contemplated using, in the end I decided to meld the old with the new and chose the new V2 Bridge

To accommodate the new bridge an inlay was cut and glued in place

It even has its own little Skunk Stripe

And, in Larry's own words:
"Although the tailpiece rout repair is going to be fully under the new tailpiece, I couldn’t resist having a stripe in it."

Well clamped

The Stripes align

Routing template

Once the inlay had properly dried the original cavity was re-routed

Final result, almost like new

All better now

You can also see in this last picture Larry has filled in the flock of holes that were drilled into the body over the years
Once the stain and finish is in place these should all become invisible

Next up .... the neck binding is fitted to the Ebony Fretboard

[jps]

It's great that Larry has an eye for detail!

[henry5]

Looking good Jim. Hope you’re well!

Please give my regards to Larry too, if it’s not too much trouble.

[thx1955]

Looking good Jim. Hope you’re well!

Please give my regards to Larry too, if it’s not too much trouble.

Happy to do so Shaun, I'll mention this to him next we speak, which is probably going to be concerning the finish

[thx1955]

Next, adding the new binding to the neck

Masking tape added to protect the Fingerboard

Tape to protect Fingerboard

Binding at the base of the neck added

Lots of Tape

Upper side first, lots of tape to hold the new binding in place

Upper side first

Even more tape

Both sides bound

Resting with friends

Next up .... Starting to put the pieces together

[Dirk]

Nice wow that grain match on the patch is impressive, once the bridge is on it's going to be undetectable.

Indeed that is artwork, Larry's ability is amazing.
Thanks for sharing the progress pics.
Dirk

[thx1955]

Nice wow that grain match on the patch is impressive, once the bridge is on it's going to be undetectable.

Indeed that is artwork, Larry's ability is amazing.
Thanks for sharing the progress pics.
Dirk

Larry not only matched the grain, he added a "dummy" skunk stripe which is also a very close match to the body