Reclaimed reverse Firebird – day 6
I applied the fourth and fifth coats of oil yesterday, so this morning I applied a coat of paste wax to the body, rubbing it in with a soft cloth.
I removed the wax with a paper towel, then buffed it out with a clean soft cloth.
Polished and ready to go, I started installing hardware. I changed out the neck screws that I had with some stronger stainless steel ones. I like the contrast of the silver on black and it will match the rest of the hardware better this way.
The inserts for the tailpiece and the tuneomatic need to be pressed in. The last time that I did this, I used a hammer to set them. It worked, but I also slightly dented the top. Since this wood is softer, I decided to use my drill press as a press. I set a block on the insert and pushed it straight in with the drill chuck. They lined up perfectly.
Next, I installed the copper shielding into the pickup and control cavities. I used the back end of my Exact-o knife to press and rub the adhesive-backed foil into place.
I attached the potentiometers and the switch next, using a ratchet, and avoiding scratching the finish.
The pick-ups went in after that, then I wired and soldered everything together. I used two Fat Pat humbucker style pickups from Guitar Fetish.
Next, I attached the jack plate and the strap buttons.
After pressing on the knobs, I strung it up.
The last piece of hardware to add were the string trees, on the head stock.
Here are a few shots of the completed guitar.
The magnetic control plate works great. It holds real well, but pressed with a little force, in just the right spot, and it opens right up.
One thing to note, with the funky shape of the body, any stand I use will need pivoting arms to adjust to hold the body.
This is my oldest son Eric, the new owner of the totally unique hybrid, reclaimed, Reverse Firebird, UDEL guitar.
I asked my son Ian to tune and play it a little bit so I could get a couple of clips. The first clip is the bridge position pickup and the second one is the neck position.
Midnight Woodworking 
Nice work!