Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on December 13, 2018 at 5:46am

Print out your design on paper. Cut it out and place it on your CBG headstock with the tuners in place. If it looks good it is good. Resize if needed. 

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on December 13, 2018 at 5:53am

Math & experimentation?

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on December 14, 2018 at 3:35pm

Hi, BrianQ's comment about maths made me think of a tried and tested method of coming up with the perfect balanced design.

The Golden Ratio. I 'm not going into it here, you can do a search, but anything from a violin to the Pyramids has been designed using this formula. Nature uses it in its design too.

I don't use the maths side of it but I do keep it in mind when designing stuff. Its about creating things of beauty by using harmonious proportions that work together....... Basically.

I eyeballed the design of my box's dimensions years ago and just did the maths to see if I was on the money. When one does the math, there's a magic number that gives the  most pleasing aesthetics of a design,  that number is 1.618. 

My box's come in at 1.66. I'm no good a maths anyway. But I might start doing it properly from now on. Its used for curves and circles too.

Taff

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on December 14, 2018 at 5:38pm

Going Fibonacci on us Taff... I was thinking along the lines of a little math guesstimation & hoping it fits? :D

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Permalink Reply by David Bowes on December 14, 2018 at 11:18pm

If you print screen, past into word (or similar), crop off the bits you do not want you can then resize form corners top or sides. It will take a little trial and error

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Permalink Reply by Stuart Joseph on December 18, 2018 at 6:40am

I did a search, for printable head stock designs, but could find no mention of where to find the period could someone please enlighten
me? Thank you

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on December 20, 2018 at 10:43am

Not sure I understand what you are trying to do.
Do you have any images of the general effect you are looking to achieve?

I've printed images onto heavy (card stock weight) photo paper to use for cigar box top images when the box is exceptionally boring.

I usually measure the box then use a photo editing software to resize the image slightly oversized. After it is glued down with spray adhesive, I use a new X acto blade to trip.

What am I missing?

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Permalink Reply by Brent Kasl on December 20, 2018 at 11:15am

Locating the images to begin with and size for headstock

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on December 20, 2018 at 11:55am

You can pick a subject category in Google Search then click on the Images option to see hundreds (thousands?) of images related to your search.
Once you find an image you like you can download it, but you really need a decent photo editing software package to "tweak" the image to your needs. I use Paint Shop Pro which has been around for years and is much easier to use than PhotoShop. With a decent starting image and a good photo editor you can usually get what you want in the end.

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on December 20, 2018 at 2:41pm

Sorry, me again. BrianQ's suggestion of experimentation and Tom's about google  images are good.

I don't use any editing software. I get apiece of card, black if possible, oversize for the planned peghead. Then I lightly score it down the centre with a sharp craft knife. Using this centre line I roughly sketch an idea for a peghead shape, fold the the template in half and cut out the shape, both side will now be the same.

Now I lay the template on the blank peghead and see how it looks for shape, size and balance  with the box. If not happy do some more trimming. I think that often someone else's design might not suit your guitar theme, so it's good to make it customised. I keep all my templates in a box for later use, laying each one on a blank neck to see what works.

Taff

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on December 20, 2018 at 3:04pm

That's what I'm talkin' about.

Taff

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Permalink Reply by Titch the Clown on December 21, 2018 at 8:36am

I use snipping tool to copy images and the free Libreoffice package,  creating a draw document. This has pretty good resizing using number entry under resize picture rather than jiggling corners semi randomly. It also seems to make 100% size on the computer screen actual 100% not slightly smaller or bigger than 100% so the size on the screen is what you get when you print it. I don't know why the popular commercial product seems to think 100% is actually a touch smaller or bigger depending on the size of your screen. 

Search for 'banjo headstock shapes' to get the best varieties of shapes. Using guitar as a term ends up with a fairly narrow range by comparison. 

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