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Building a guitar with a more or less standard solid ( not slotted ) headstock.
Shooting for a total thickness of about 15 mm ( 0.59 inches ) to match tuners.
I would like to have both a top and back veneer on the headstock but not sure about the thickness of the veneers.
Stewmac sells plates/veneer for this purpose which are 2.38 mm thick ( 3/32 of an inch )
This seems too thick.
Also... on the back veneer I want to bend the veneer a bit to follow the curved volute.
I'm thinking something like 1.5 mm ( 0.06 inch or so ) veneer on front and back.
Would appreciate any opinions etc.

Thanks
John Scampini

Well I think you'll be fine with those veneers. I've gone as thick as 1/8" on the face, even without thin colored veneers underneath.

On the back with a .010 veneer ive made a caul that fits the back of the headstock and volute. Go thinner (.006) and it will bend even easier.
Then lightly damped the veneer, place wax paper under it and slowly clamp it down so it conforms to the volute. Let it dry. Take it apart and Bob's your Uncle.
I've done it this way many times. I've also just bent the curve to fit the volute on a hot pipe

Kevin Sjostrand wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2025 6:49 pm Well I think you'll be fine with those veneers. I've gone as thick as 1/8" on the face, even without thin colored veneers underneath.

On the back with a .010 veneer ive made a caul that fits the back of the headstock and volute. Go thinner (.006) and it will bend even easier.
Then lightly damped the veneer, place wax paper under it and slowly clamp it down so it conforms to the volute. Let it dry. Take it apart and Bob's your Uncle.
I've done it this way many times. I've also just bent the curve to fit the volute on a hot pipe

Thanks Kevin. Great feedback as usual.
I think I'm going to try an use a thicker back veneer ( 0.06 or so ) and epoxy it to add strength as I'm planning on veneering it with ebony ( which should strengthen the neck joint quite a bit if I glue it well ). It means I will need to bend a curve for the volute but shouldn't be too bad. Thanks again.

its the overall thickness that matters. Check you tuner posts that dictates the overall thickness

tippie53 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2025 1:34 pm its the overall thickness that matters. Check you tuner posts that dictates the overall thickness

Thanks John. I’m shooting for 15 mm total.