The Last Bass Outpost

Fortunately I haven't had to use the debonder, but I've been told it works well.

Grown men keep the glues and lubricants in separate rooms

Special T for me too, if there is a tiny gap. I try to have both green and yellow at hand, they do come in handy.

Best wishes, Mark!

So how does one properly set up a stock harmonica bridge to work with a bigsby?  Is there some setup trick I'm missing? Smooth saddle slots maybe?

There's no trick, but both nut and saddles need special attention for it to work as good as possible. They must not catch or 'bite' the strings in any way. Polish the bottoms with fine sandpaper. You can add some lubrication (graphite, ex) if you wish. And make sure the bearings on the bigsby work smooth.

And some even use flat bottom filing on the nut, this demands some skills however. There is lots of tips and vids if you Google. 

The bottom of the truss rod cavity is painted white, so either it's the original finish or someone removed the acorn nut and truss rod before refinishing. But if it's original, why is the headstock logo missing?

The bridge seems to be missing the white nylon saddles. So I found this page, explaining how to mod Tune-O-Matic saddles to fit the SB type bridge.

I can't see anyone painting a headstock without covering the nut/truss rod at least, it not too hard to get paint in there. Not saying it's not original finish - but I would not make a judgement by the painted truss rod cavity.

It is supposed to have a black decal, and those decals are pretty tough. Unlikely to 'wash away' by accident, it's more likely sanded off before headstock was painted.

The bridge/Bigsby combination on mine just does not work... instantly puts the beast out of tune... bridge wobbles on the studs...

You have the Gibson/Bigsby with the white solid teflon-like bearing? I think it's the bearing that does not age well. I used this unit on a 6 string (EB-6) Project, but I replaced the teflon bearings with needle roller bearings. Took some time to locate the bearings, but when fitted the unit stays in tune very well! And it's a rather cheap mod.

Funny thing, the listing includes a complete SB350/450 control plate.

I think the 300/400's were available only in cherry and Walnut, but who knows. I've been on the lookout
for a 300/350 to make a fretless SG bass, as my experiments with EB0/maho body/maho neck turned out to be no good. But the few Project SB300/350's I have found have been too clean or too expensive.

I think the ones I've seen have sold for about $900-1000, but they don't pop up too often. There is one locally (Norway) available for $1300 but he's dreaming.

If this auction was for a shortie, I'd be all over it. Good Luck!