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Waddy

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Sound Clips of most of my guitars

  Screwed that up.  My Enter key seems to get in the way when I'm trying to hit the Shift key.

Oh Well, Here are some pics of my prototype headstock design which I made from scraps after I cut out my back.  I just wanted to see if I could do what I had in my mind.  The final product is not high quality, since I started from pieces yesterday.  Did the joins, planed down to about 1.4mm, cut it out, glued up the layers, bored and filed out the slots, sanded and finished with about 5 - 6 coats of the Zinsser spray shellac.  Suggestions are welcome. 



The last one puts it in perspective as to where I am in my progress.

Thanks for looking.

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Waddy

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Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thanks Hesh I was really looking for feedback.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

The crown was part of the veneer, but when carved down, ended up looking like a separate piece.  I use a marking knife to get clean cuts on the inside curves to get something to carve to.  The whole thing is too short to use, but I didn't know if it would work like I had planned.  Now, I have to do it for real.  That makes me nervous.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

That looks really slick Waddy. I like it. Quite classy, in my opinion.

Bill

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Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Very original! Indeed a keeper if you ask me!!

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Beautiful. I wish there was Feel-a-vision. Nice!!!

Originality is what it is all about, abd you have designed one that I havent seen before! I love it!

I would like to think that mine is unique also.

Good job!

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Reguards,

Ken H

Thanks Ken.  That was the objective. I figured if I was gonna build classicals, I had to have a unique design.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

That's cool. I really like the 3D-ness.

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

Really gorgeous

Very original, and beautiful execution. It should really make your guitars stand out!!

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

Really cool, I like it when people think outside the box. Is the 1st pic the same headstock as the others? In the 1st pic the outside edges look parallel, however I can see the angles better in the other pics. Maybe it's just the photos. You know what else might look cool is if you can file your ramps in the slots to match your angle of the top of the headstock, kinda like the pic below, but in the opposite direction.



Good start, I like it!

That looks great Waddy, just need a picture of you looking through the tunner holes  

                                Red

I like the design, but relief carving leaves depressions that are almost impossible to finish smoothly.

[QUOTE=John Elshaw] Is the 1st pic the same headstock as the others? In the 1st pic the outside edges look parallel, however I can see the angles better in the other pics. Maybe it's just the photos. You know what else might look cool is if you can file your ramps in the slots to match your angle of the top of the headstock, kinda like the pic below, but in the opposite direction.



 


Good start, I like it![/QUOTE]

Thanks John,
Like I said, it was a test made from scrap.  It is slanted properly for a headstock, but it is hard to see because of the angle of the pics.  It also doesn't show much because the thing is about 2 1/2 inches shorter than a regular headstock.  The ramps are also shortened for the same reason.  They were sort of an afterthought to see how they would look.  In the design, the slots are centered in the outside humps in the head, and slant in with the edges.  I am thinking of using a 1/2" gouge, and beveling the flat edge into a rounded ramp in the center below the crown.  It was an idea I had while cleaning up and sharpening some gouges that had been neglected for years.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

[QUOTE=BarryDaniels]I like the design, but relief carving leaves depressions that are almost impossible to finish smoothly.[/QUOTE]

That's a good point Barry. It was difficult to get in there.  Maybe opening it up a little at the center point (see above reply), and a little more relief in the lower edges, would make it a little easier.  My primary thought was not about making it easy, but unique, pleasing to the eye, and workable.  This is my first guitar, so I'm sure changes are in in the future.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Any inside corner is difficult to finish cleanly. I try to avoid them at all costs. With a bolt-on neck, separately finished, that is possible.

Very nice job Waddy. It's always good to practice on scrap first like you've done. Now, to the real thing....
It's lookin' good!

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

What you may want to do to make your life easier is to make a template, that can be followed with a guide bushin on your router base and a small groove bit or sign making bit (V with a slight flat botom -see Lee Valley). This would make the edges even, smooth, and repeatable in minutes ...

One of my students said jokingly just recently that I dont really make guitars .. I make jigs that make guitars .... you know, the kids catching onto it ...

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Waddy, you've got something quite interesting going on here. There's a design clash, though, between the bottom "point" of the carved section and the shoulders that frame it. You have a flat area fighting with the roundness all around it. There are a couple of ways I can think of to harmonize it:

Enlarge the radius of the shoulders above your slots, and continue the curve to the center line, creating a "V" shape. Then carve the bottom of the center section to fit the "V". It would make everything nice and round.

Another option might be to radius the bottom of the center section, perhaps matching its top, to give it more of an "eye" shape. This might visually separate it too much from the rest of the headstock, though.

I'd suggest trying it all on paper first, using true radii of circles. Grab an eraser and anything circular--coins, washers--and/or a compass and experiment.

The proportion of the center carve to the rest of the headstock is hard to judge because of the short prototype; but you might want to make that center section larger or taller so it becomes the most prominent part of the headstock. A good example is the crown of John's headstock shown above. Right now, your's has a bit of a "shrugging man" look.

This is all just my humble opinion, so take it for what it's worth. In the end it's your satisfaction that counts the most.

Tony:

Thanks, I think you are right.  A template and router would make the job much less daunting, and easier to repeat.  I really haven't gotten to many jigs yet.  They will come along with my experience and experimentation.

Carlton:

I think you are right about the little flat fighting the other round surfaces.  I think I mentioned above that I'm going to take a 1/2" gouge and put a curve tying the two outside humps together at that point in the middle.  I'm going to cut it flat first and see what happens, then I'm going to ramp it a little to see how it looks with the other ramps.

You may also be right about the center needing to be taller.  I'll look again after dealing with the center.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Good luck, my friend. Coming up with an unique design can be incredibly frustrating and time consuming, but there's a lot of satisfaction when it all comes together.

OK, I did some quick changes just to see.  Shot them wet to get an idea
of how they would look. 
1.  Just curved the bottom of the join between the two outside humps in the center below the crown.



2. In this one, ramped the center slightly, and softened the edges of the two outside humps to more closely resemble the crown. 
In both of these, In a new piece, I would try to bring the lower point of the crown down closer to the lower center curve.

Ideas?

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars