Peelings. Wo-oh-oh-ooo peelings... (BaCH NR and a stripper)

[chromium]

Saw it was 110 degrees in AZ.

Looking great Joe.

Thanks!  Yeah its still hot as bejeezus here.  



I got the pickups transplanted last night!  Well, mostly.  Still need to put them on the drill press to take care of the  mounting holes:




I used the dremel with this metal cutoff wheel that comes in handy quite often.  I ran it around the bead on the bottom, up the edges, and along the top edges of each plastic cover.  Then I did as suggested and pried away with a small flatblade.  The edges popped free without much effort, and the tops of the old covers peeled right off.  You can see in the pic where they affixed the coils to the cover using a blob of silicone(?), and then potted the whole thing in epoxy.

After the pickups were skinned, I ran the edges over some 80-grit and got the fit with the chrome 70s covers just right.  They're snug, but I can still get 'em out if needed.  I'll probably secure each pickup to the cover with a small dot/bead of JB quick weld on each side.

One question for anyone who may know- the coils are offset to one side in each pickup.  Here's a pic of them as received, so you can see what I mean:




Should the side with the coils closest to the edge be oriented towards the "bass" side, due to the extra string excursion there?  That's what I'm assuming, but that would mean the wires are terminating on the wrong/opposite side.  Just wanted to verify, since I didn't see them come out of the bass from which they were obtained.

[Nocturnal]

Joe, If no one knows the answer to the coil question I can pop one of my pickups tonite to verify it for you.

[chromium]

Joe, If no one knows the answer to the coil question I can pop one of my pickups tonite to verify it for you.

Thanks, Andy!  Don't take apart your bass, though.  It'd probably be better if I size things up by setting them in the body and measuring.  The offset just struck me as strange!  I noticed Mark's late model TB+ (see p.3) is the same.  I just held one of them up to my '76, and it looks like it may be offset for a reason... the blade pole-pieces center perfectly across the strings when its oriented with the coils up against the bass side.  Hard to get my head around, since nothing looks asymmetric with regard to the string or pickup positions.    Weird!!  Hey- as long as it works, right?

I'll just make sure they're positioned in the BaCH for best coverage.

[chromium]

Rough draft:




Need to trim the 'guard a bit right there at the fingerboard (and route it for the neck pickup), and take some time to further obsess over placement of things...  Movin' ahead, though!   

[OldManC]

Lookin' great!

[TBird1958]

I've been meaning to post these shots here.......
These are the pups from my Nikki Sixx MkII, they're different than the regular TB plus models.
The coils are taller and note the brass strip running along the edge, as well as the large copper band on #204 these also use springs instead of foam for mounting cushion. To my ear these are pretty nice pups, I just wish they were chrome plated..........hint 

[chromium]

It took some doing, but I finally got the pickguard and all of the Gibbie accouterments positioned and the holes drilled.  I used a drawing (George's?) that I had saved from the old forum (along with a bunch of photos) as a reference, and just tried to find a happy balance between the original measurements and how everything looks when laid out across the BaCH's body:




I altered the PG to mate up nicely with the BaCH fingerboard, and also cut the hole in it for the neck pickup.  I routed the body out for the second pickup as well, drilled the extra hole for the volume pot, and relocated the tailpiece closer to the bridge:





Now, back to sanding and more primering...

[Highlander]

Come on, Joe, let's have the gory details... 

(yes, the neatly posed router in the background, with the pristine white foreground; not a shaving in sight... )

Seriously tho, Joe, lookin' good... 

[chromium]

My OCD does not normally allow for such photos; therefore, I felt compelled to clean up the shavings, bits of plastic, blood, etc. 

I expect the next photos will be in color

[Highlander]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmcrreUVBeo&feature=player_embedded

[OldManC]

I expect the next photos will be in color

Excellent!

[birdie]

brahh-vo!!

[drbassman]

And now for something completely different............

[Highlander]

A quintessential idylic English summer scene, with a twist of lemming... 

[chromium]

The latest:





Gonna try to start the clear coats Friday...