Headstock Issuses

[snipes2222]

Hey all,

Well I was working on a new neck the other day and while I was thinning out the headstock my router slipped a touch and now it is way to thin(like 1/2 inch).So I put a piece of 1/4 in. walnut on the front and back of it to beef it up a bit but im still afraid that it will snap if I string it up like this.

So I was thinking that I could drill two 1/8 in. holes on either side of the truss rod and put some stainless roundstock or the carbon rods in the holes.The headstock is scarf jointed so drilling at an angle isnt a problem.So anybody with some input would be apprecaited.

Thanks,

Wes

[biliousfrog]

how thick do you want the headstock?...1/2" is fairly standard I think

[westhemann]

9/16" is standard..i make mine 1/2"

3/4"" is too thick...the tuners won't fit right..woah...i just reread...you have it 1" thick?why?where are you getting your dimensions from?do you have a guitar to measure?

[Doeringer]

If he's putting 1/4 walnut on both the top and back, that is a 1 inch headstock, and PLENTY thick. It is very common to put a veneer on a headstock for strength or looks but I think that is too much, not to mention the extra weight.

[RGGR]

Something similar happen to my 540Pvii build. Happily routing away till desired 10mm thickness.

Checking up thickness of headstock with other guitar.

F%*^#!@+!.....

Should have been 15mm.

Hmmmm.....

So got out a piece of Wenge and Maple.......Hubba, hubba....

And finally it looked all hunky-dory again.

Guitar building is all about fixing-up mistakes. When guitar is done I of course never will admit to this mistake. It was suppose to look like this to begin with.

[westhemann]

snipes...you should have left it at 1/2"

the tuners will not work

[snipes2222]

Whats wrong is that where the headstock begins to angle seems to thin(on the back of the neck where the volute was going to be.).I will be sanding down the walnut caps quite a bit.Anyway it just worries me because i dont think that the caps will do alot to support that area and that why i asked about the rods,but as ive thought about it it seems to me that removing even more wood could be bad for trhe neck.Thank you all for your input,I will keep researching till i figure out what to do.

Wes

Edited January 30, 2007 by snipes2222

[Desopolis]

are you talking about the headstock itself or the scarf joint?

most necks are usually at 1" thick(back of neck to top of fretboard), with a much thinner headstock.

a picture speaks a thousand words..

[snipes2222]

So I am planning on thining the headstock down quite a bit.I just dont want it to snap off when i string it up.I should clarify that the mistake is on the back of the neck where the volute was going to be,right at the point where the angle begins.Thats why im worried.I suppose ill keep researching till i figure out what to do.Thanks for replying so quickly.

Wes

Edited January 30, 2007 by snipes2222

[westhemann]

most necks are usually at 1" thick(back of neck to top of fretboard),

that is a bit thick actually...mine are usually 3/4"...with a 3/16" fretboard.that is behind thefirst fret...at about the 17th fret i take it out about another 1/16

7/8" i think is about average...but that 1/8" difference feels like a mile

[marksound]

I'm a little confused. Why do you think the headstock will snap under string tension?

I've seen any number of broken necks from being stepped on, run over by a bus, shipping accidents, etc., but I've never seen one break from having strings tuned to pitch. If your scarf is joined correctly it should hold with no problem, and there are thousands of guitars built without volutes every year that hold up just fine.

Maybe I'm just not getting it, but I don't see the problem.

[snipes2222]

Its the fact that the headstock is so much thinner than the neck at the point where it angles that im worried about.When the slip happened it cut quite a bit off so its like a 90 degree angle cut roughly a 1/4 in.deep into the neck.

Wes

Ill try to get a pic up later today so you all can see what im talking about.

Edited January 30, 2007 by snipes2222

[biliousfrog]

can you please take a photo of it or at least draw a picture & post it here?

You can upload images with an image hosting site like photobucket or imageshack. It would be extremely helpful in seeing what's wrong & then we would have a better understanding of what's possible to fix it.

[postal]

Most Jackson guitars are .745-775 at the nut, and have zero volute. You're woried about nothing.

If 1"thick is normal... try a guitar instead of putting frets on a baseball bat!

--------edit----------

Headstock thickness depends on the tuners you use. Plan on 30-40 thou less than maximum thickness because of finish. This would depend on the type of finish though of course. 1/2 to 9/16 is the normal range for a finished headstock.

Edited February 2, 2007 by postal

[Desopolis]

yeah, 1" is alittle thick, I was using the number that stuck out most in my head when looking at this:

http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/necks....n=back_profiles

.8" seams to be the norm.

[postal]

1" blank for a neck is common, maybe that's what you were thinking of?