Head stocks and fretting.

Posted by D.C. Mansfield on January 12, 2011 at 2:55am

Hi everyone.

                  My first headstock's have been really basic  Just a bit of shaping at the end of a 2 by 1.  

I want to make something a bit more ornate, with a head stock that flares out and has more shape to it.  I was going to add extra wood to the head stock and cut to shape.  The main thing that I'm worried about is how strong it'll be.  Any thoughts/tips?

  Secondly, I'm looking into fretting a guitar, and was going to get a proper guide etc, but can anyone just give me a quick run trough of what's involved?  Is it fairly easy, or should I stay well away from it?!

  Thanks for your time and advice.

 - D.C.

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Replies

  • D.C. Mansfield January 15, 2011 at 8:46am
    Cheers David, I'll give it a butchers.

    David Lloyd said:

    Hi,

    There is an excellent book to download free on the Smokehouse guitars group which covers everything including a good how to fret section with photos http://www.cigarboxnation.com/group/smokehouseguitars

     

  • David L. January 12, 2011 at 2:14pm

    Hi,

    There is an excellent book to download free on the Smokehouse guitars group which covers everything including a good how to fret section with photos http://www.cigarboxnation.com/group/smokehouseguitars

     

  • ChickenboneJohn January 12, 2011 at 12:26pm
    There's loads of stuff out there in the web...but basically slot the 'board, put the frets in, trim & bevel the ends, level the frets, re-crown them and  polish.  It's not one of my favorite jobs, as it can be very frustrating is something goes wrong during the process...but I keep on doing it!
  • D.C. Mansfield January 12, 2011 at 11:38am

    Thanks John,

                    What comes after that?  Is it just a case of cutting the fret wire to length, tapping them in and sanding them off?

    ChickenboneJohn said:

    305693021?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024If you want to do a headstock that's more like a trad guitar, that's no problem to glue 'wings' onto the sides of the headstock, that's exactly what Gibson do, so as long as you have good clean joint and use a decent glue, it will be plenty strong enough.

     

    As for fretting, I use a decent 'gents saw' (about £15 from ToneTechLuthiers Supplies) and a home made guide. The guide is simply a piece of thick MDF with a straight 'fence' glued and screwed to it (I've added an aluminium angle to mine to create a nice durable face, but that's not really necessary), and some small pieces of aluminium screwed to the baseboard to form the saw guide..this keeps your saw at right angles to the fretboard and vertical. Slotting fretboards isn't my favorite activity, but this works. I'm seriously thinking of going to the next stage and getting set-up with a table saw and setting it up specifically to do fretboards.

  • ChickenboneJohn January 12, 2011 at 3:09am

    305693021?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024If you want to do a headstock that's more like a trad guitar, that's no problem to glue 'wings' onto the sides of the headstock, that's exactly what Gibson do, so as long as you have good clean joint and use a decent glue, it will be plenty strong enough.

     

    As for fretting, I use a decent 'gents saw' (about £15 from ToneTechLuthiers Supplies) and a home made guide. The guide is simply a piece of thick MDF with a straight 'fence' glued and screwed to it (I've added an aluminium angle to mine to create a nice durable face, but that's not really necessary), and some small pieces of aluminium screwed to the baseboard to form the saw guide..this keeps your saw at right angles to the fretboard and vertical. Slotting fretboards isn't my favorite activity, but this works. I'm seriously thinking of going to the next stage and getting set-up with a table saw and setting it up specifically to do fretboards.

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