Headstock & Glue Issues

[DrummerDude]

OK, I am very close to finishing my pine guitar.

I am very comfused about the headstock, though.

Here is a description of the situation:

Please note that the tuners' holes you see on the diagram are not drilled yet.

OK, how to proceed?

Should I glue the new parts to the old headstock?

If yes, is there a glue that is strong enough to hold the string tension?

Or should I use not only glue but some screws too?

And one last question: how to make the two surfaces (the old headstock and the new parts) perfectly flat and even, so when I apply the glue and meet them there is no any space between? I tried to sand them flat on a piece of glass with sanding paper stuck on it but my hand movements are not that perfect and there are always curvatures and the surfaces turn out to be far from flat.

Thanks guys!

Edited May 6, 2005 by DrummerDude

[Marzocchi705]

if your worried about strength, why not do what my bassist did on his several headstock mods, use dowels? There should be no problem aslong as your joint is good, he moded a strat head to a explorer head (looks realy good on a strat body btw) and it hasnt broke, he only used 9's tho. Why not use a plane to prep your joint?

[DrummerDude]

OK, the new headstock is finished.

It looks so cool

I used both glue and screws.

The new headstock is rock-steady and kicks major ass

I wish I had a camera to take photos of every single step of the process.

That would have been a freaking nice headstock replacement pictorial...

[guitman32]

How do the screws look?

Did you ever get those edges to square up properly?

[Newc of the JCF]

I used Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Glue on a headstock that was broken completely in half from between the 3rd and 4th tuners to the opposite side under the 2nd tuner (Jackson headstock - thanks UPS) and it held with no trouble under full tension (9's). I even shipped it to a friend and it didn't pop loose (so far), and it's been like that for about a year.

[DrummerDude]

How do the screws look?

Did you ever get those edges to square up properly?

←

The screws are not visible. I first drilled tiny holes for the screws then I used a large diameter bit to make nests for the screw heads. After I screwed them in, their heads sunk into their nests (under the actual surface of the wood).

EDIT:

guitman32, I made some corrections to the diagram above. Now you can see how I made the screws sink in the wood.

After I finished the glueing and the screws stuff, I used automotive putty and covered everyithing, then sanded the whole thing to perfection. Then the paint - whole neck and headstock is jet black. Now the headstock looks so damn smooth and cool. It looks really evil, I freakin' love it.

It is about to be polished soon.

I don't understand your second question but if it is about the way the surfaces of the wings and of the original headstock match, then the answer is: NO, they were not precisely square and flat - I couldn't make them even close to flat.

I didn't even put much effort to match them perfectly because I knew that the screws would clamp them extremely tight and the glue between the surfaces would fill any persistent tiny hole. And I turned out to be so right

Still, I don't mind knowing how do people make the surfaces that are about to be glued perfectly flat.

Edited May 6, 2005 by DrummerDude