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I spent a bit of time designing my Cambrian Guitars headstock shape this evening. I tried to make it swooshy, identifiable and different from others I have seen to date, yet easy to route/bind.

If you would, please let me know if you know of another guitar maker that has a shape that's identical or even close to this - I don't want to be accused of copying, so I'd like to make sure it's unique up front!


(Click on the photo to see/download the full size version - 3.55MB)

I designed the template using Corel Draw X3, and made it using my Epilog EXT laser engraving machine to raster engrave and vector cut it from some 0.25" thick acrylic sheet .

Cheers,
Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

wow!!
that's some pretty fancy work with the engraving. nicely done.
about the shape, it looks to me like your onto something original. go for it.
phil

Very nice Dave!

I would be a little concerned about the difficulty of bending binding and mitering the upcurl on the right of the top. But if you have the chops for it go for it. Visually I really like the design/shape. Nice job!

Dave, have you checked for how the tuner holes will line up with the placement on the nut?

Thanks guys. I'm not sure I like the sides and the curve up from the nut end yet....seems too smooth to me now that I look at it again the next day. I may make some changes to the design and cut another one.

Hesh - I will be trying out binding the shape probably tomorrow (Sunday) so we'll see how hard the swoop is!

Anthony - The tuner hole placements are in exactly the same relative place as the OM guitar template that I got the overall dimension requirements from, so they should be okay. I'll spend a few minutes in Corel Draw and draw in the string lines to double check though - it won't hurt to see!

BTW - if any OLF'er wants/needs an acrylic template (headplate/body/neck joint/whatever) cut out on a laser, just ask. I'd be glad to help out.

Cheers,
Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

Dave, I would love to have one of those headstock templates once I get my design finished. What do I have to do to get one done, and how much will it cost?

Vince

Me too, Dave - what kind of files can you accept? Looks like you might have a little cottage industry going here...

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Mitch

Vince, Mitch, I can deal with pretty much any file format. The best for me would be a vector file format (e.g. a Corel Draw .cdr file, a pdf file [yes, pdf is a vector format], powerpoint drawings work ok, and any one of the Adobe drawing formats are probably okay too). I can even convert bmp and jpg (etc. etc.) into the necessary format pretty easily using the Corel Draw Power Trace feature.

I'm not in it to make money - my laser's already paid for - I'd make stuff for OLF'ers at the cost of the material and shipping only. OK? Think of it as payback for all the infromation and help I have gleaned from everyone at the OLF already!

Most of the time, I can get acrylic/lexan offcuts that are big enough for headplates for $1 per lb. from Tap Plastics. So, for headplate template, it's probably going to be in the $2 to $4 range plus shipping. For larger stuff, like the dread template I made a while back (photo below), I'd have to buy whole sheets of the stuff, so these would cost quite a bit more.


(click on the picture to see/download the full size 3.77MB version)

The astute will notice that the dread template says "Dave's Wooden Wonders" on it. That's my woodworking web domain - I decided to start a new domain for my lutherie work after I'd made this template.

I have found that the best thickness for my templates is 1/4", but I see that most of the ones sold comercially are 3/16" thick - presumably to save cost. I can make them any thickness you want up to 1/4".

When you guys have your drawings done, send me a file and I'll get you sorted out, no problemo.

Cheers,
Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

To answer your original question, I haven't seen any headstock like this one yet. That said, the little curve on the top right corner might not be soo easy to bind, I think.

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)