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spot on todd

More or less exactly the same as how I do it, though shouldn't the 5th and 6th cuts be switched? You need the flat edge for bandsawing the profile do you not?

I use double-sided tape myself which keeps it together pretty well until I'm ready to separate it, just have to clear the surface of dust.

These days I cut two headstocks from the same (slightly longer) blank as I wasn't too happy with the number of "cradles" as you put it that I have lying around - at least 50% or more of the wood is going to waste. With this method I simply do what you had as your last cut first and tape spare offcuts from previous builds onto the back to then go back and do the rest of the steps more or less in the order you have them.

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Richard
http://www.guitarmaker.com

I have no idea why one would want to do this on a table saw!

Bandsaw, plane, scraper, chisel, floats....about 20 mins per head, no overlay, just a koa block.

Richard, those "cradles" are perfect for seam splints, if your daring!(watch your hand on that table saw)

I will be much more confident in my actions now Todd, thanks a bunch
for taking the time to share your experiences. Stevd

Todd,

Thanks for this. It created one of those Homer Simpson Doh moments for me. Being used to doing normal scarfe joints I have been cutting the peghead face rather than the hollow neck face. Now I'll waste less wood and don't need as deep blocks

I do my cuts on the bandsaw too.

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

Thanks Todd, you posting this tutorial was timley. I had my own idea of the
layout and the angle of the cut's, but yours seem much better. I'm trying to
figure out how to achieve the cut's using hand saws, and decided on using a
thin kerfed Ryoba Saw and a Bow (frame) Saw.

What do you and others think of this approach?

I'm gonna try all this out on a block of poplar that I picked up at the local
lumber yard before trying It on the real thing. Thanks again.

I got my floats from Lie Nielsen... really super way to spend $100.