1st slotted headstock & method

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jread
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1st slotted headstock & method

Post by jread »

I pondered over how to make a slotted peghead/headstock for a while and after reading/watching several methods here's the templates and tools I used. Came out pretty well for my 1st try. Any advice for improvements would be appreciated.

I didn't realize at 1st that slotted headstocks are thicker than solid ones. I always make mine to be .625" including the overlay and found out too late that it should be closer to .75" as the tuners are .68" wide. No problem, adding an overlay to the back solved that and my peghead is now .73"

I carefully measured to the center of the peghead and drilled the 3 holes in the template so that when face down, they would be centered. The plywood is not the exact same thickness as the peghead so centering them in the template was not useful.
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The slot template holes were cut with a router using a fence before I cut it to the shape of the peghead. They need to be .5" wide to accommodate the pattern router bit. My channels aren't perfect. I cleaned them up with a file and chisel but they could be better.
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Used a rat tail file to add the ramps so that the strings clear when coming down over the nut.
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I'm happy with the results. It needs final sanding and so does the entire neck. I plan to dye it a darker brown and also add my pearl inlay logo.
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Bob Gleason
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Re: 1st slotted headstock & method

Post by Bob Gleason »

Interesting. Clean slotheads are hard to make. Instead of using a 1/2" pattern bit, I use template guides on a plunge router base. I use 1/4" spiral bits, making the first cut with a 7/16" template guide and the final cut with a 3/8" template guide.I do the innitial cuts in a few successive depths of 1/4" or so cuts. After I change to the 3/8" template I can do the cut with the bit at the whole depth of the cut. Makes for a very clean slot. You did not mention, but first time slotted builders need to know that the tuner holes have to be drilled BEORE they cut the slots. Otherwise the drill bit will make a mess when it exits the wood inside the slots. Good on you to make your own templates. I gave that up in favor of using adjustable commercially made templates. They are crazy expensive, but worth it if you do very many slotheads, or different sizes of headstocks. Also, the head angle on slotheads is a lot less, somewhere about 6-8 degrees, depending on whether you have small steel string rollers or larger classical rollers. If you don't raise the head up, it will not be possible to have strings that don't hit the wood, which is a cardinal sin! It is a good idea to draw the headstock on paper, in both a side view and a front view to get a workable design. Get your tuners before you design anything. As noted by jread, head thicknesses are different for slotheads. Lastly pay close attention to placement of your slots. Their placement interacts with the string clearances.--Bob
tippie53
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Re: 1st slotted headstock & method

Post by tippie53 »

I am lucky I own a milling machine and do it there
I like Bob's idea of the smaller bit. I used to do it that way
first I use a drill bit to clean out the worst of the material
you got it mastered
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
jread
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Re: 1st slotted headstock & method

Post by jread »

Bob, you are spot on, I didn't think of the angle and stings clearances.

Looks like I'm into trouble territory here. The two outside strings are not clearing. The 4 other stings are OK. It occurred to me that the ramps may need more filing but it didn't occur to me that they wouldn't clear on the sides like this. Here's a pic of a rough string fit w/ loose nut and unglued fretboard. My headstock angle is 15 degrees and the perhaps the slots are too close together. Now that I understand more, I will study this and see if I can make any adjustments to get them to clear. Maybe make them a little wider. I'll report back. If I can't get them to work, I'll start over. I make my own necks so they aren't too expensive in materials. Just a good bit of time to get them to this point.

Confirming what you mentioned. Drill the side holes 1st. And thanks for the advice on the bits. I did take several passes going deeper each time. The 1/2" pattern bits came in a set of 4 of different lengths so that the bearing would ride the template and not descend into the work as I move it down. But smaller bits would be cleaner.

Summary:
Going to ty to fix this one by adjusting the size of the slots.

Next time:
Draw the design on paper front and side to check angles and slot placement with chosen tuners.
Neck angle should be closer to 6-8 degrees instead of the 15 degrees of a solid peghead.
Use smaller pattern bits
Consider adjustable template jig. LMII has one for @$300 w/ the templates.


"Failure is success in progress" Will report back. Thank you!
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MaineGeezer
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Re: 1st slotted headstock & method

Post by MaineGeezer »

I've done four slot heads. Just to make things difficult, the slots don't go all the way through the headstock. That was originally motivated by a desire to cop\y the design of an old Bruno guitar I have, then I decided I liked the look and it made my guitars distinctive, so I kept doing it.

I drew it out using a CAD program to get things to line up correctly. The headstock angle is 15 degrees and the strings don't rub; maybe it's a miracle. It may be because the neck is 1-13/16" wide.

Using a bit the exact width of the slot you want may seem logical, but you'll get a cleaner cut if you do it in 3 passes with a narrower bit guided by a template. For a 1/2" slot you might use a 3/8" bit right down the center, then shift left and right 1/16" to clean up the sides of the slot.

All this is considerably easier with a milling machine, which I have.
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headstock.pdf
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Bob Gleason
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Re: 1st slotted headstock & method

Post by Bob Gleason »

Good attitude jread! important to be open to learning frm mistakes, though it can make for some unhappy days. I'm about to head into the shop this morning, and after nearly 50 years of doing it, I'll probably still learn something today! It is never ending.-Bob
PSmill
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Re: 1st slotted headstock & method

Post by PSmill »

I used this method from the Bogdanovich book, a 1/4 hardboard template double sided taped on. I drilled the slots first underside, and used a chisel to clean it out to the point I could get the router bit in unobstructed. The slots are very clean, but my rollers didn't line up. Still choked about that one. There is a video by O Brien with a good looking method to link up the roller hole drilling guide, clamping it all down to the bench top for alignment.
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Stray Feathers
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Re: 1st slotted headstock & method

Post by Stray Feathers »

My first two guitars were slotheads. At the time I had a Martin 000 12-fret and I followed the geometry of that guitar closely. I also had access to a plan with dimensions. Like Bob Gleason, I used the brass template rings with a router. Unlike Bob, I have only done it the two times, and am not sure I could explain how to do it again! But it seemed to work okay, and it left the slots with rounded-off square ends. From your photos it looks like maybe your side "rails" may be a little thick; on the plan I referred to, they are 5/16"; the slots are 1/2". Also the ramps seem a little far from the nut. On mine the centre of the first tuner post is 1 3/4" from the front of the nut. The shallow end of the ramp is a little more than 5/16" from the nut. In the photo below you can see that the 3rd and 4th strings on mine are too close to the insides of the slots, but they seem to work, sometimes with a little repositioning of the string wraps. I hope to do another slot head soon, so am following your progress here. I may realign my next headstock a little straighter. And, for the record, the headstock in the plan I have is 3/4" thick. I hope maybe some of this will help you to figure a way around your string alignment dilemma. Bruce W.
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jread
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Re: 1st slotted headstock & method

Post by jread »

I should have posted before I made mine. haha. But I understand the geometry a lot better now. Thanks for all the replies! It seems I could get my strings to clear if widen my slots by 1/8" toward the outside edge making them 5/8" wide and then extending the ramp towards the nut. I'll try it as an experiment but expect I may need to make a new neck for this build.
Bob Gleason
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Re: 1st slotted headstock & method

Post by Bob Gleason »

Careful if you widen the slots and make the side rails thinner. The tuner screws need some depth of rail or they will stick through. Better quality slothead tuners will come with shorter screws than the regular 3/8" tuner screws. If your screws end up being too long, you can always nip the ends off and shorten them. I know all this because I think there are no mistakes that I did not make learning to do slotheads.Good luck! -Bob
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