Strat Headstock Question

[Dylanwad]

Is cutting out the 'dip' on the face of a strat headstock going to be impossible to do with a jigsaw? I'm gathering from what I'm reading here that the blade flexes all over the place.

[killemall8]

I dont think that woudl work to well. besides, most jigsaw blades wont cut a piece of wood that thick.

[Dylanwad]

Thanks killemall8.

[luthier1206]

theres actually a little plastic piece you can attach to the jigsaw which will direct the blade and make it cut straighter, and if you have a long enough blade you should be fine. just make sure to cut safely outside the lines, because theres still a chance of the blade slipping.

[Mattia]

Cut the headstock face by hand and use a sanding drum (or end of a belt sander) to do the scoop. I have a bandsaw, and I still won't use it for this kind of cut.

[Ripthorn]

I use a safe-t-planer to get the main part to thickness and then a sanding drum to get the scoop part.

[RestorationAD]

And my new tool for it.

[postal]

That "dip" is a 3" sanding drum.

They use a 3" spiral cutter to rough it. then clean it up with a 3"sanding drum.

[Our Souls inc.]

I've hogged the whole thing out with a rasp before, and also a router, using a rasp just to get the curvy part. A skilsaw was used for one or two as well, but the curve of the blade left more wood to remove so now the router and rasp trick is more common for me.

Experiment to find out what works for you before committing the saw to your good neck.

[Southpa]

I've used half-round rasp and riffler files. Half-round coarse file is actually better to finish. A rasp can potentially tear out the sides if you take it too far.

[Razbo]

I've used band saw, router, and simply standing there with a belt sander. If you don't mind standing there for a bit, a belt sander works fine, but my current method is just a simple jig to get the general depth with a router, then finish with the belt sander. (I have to drive an hour to get to the band saw, so... )