A bad decision has been made

[jeremy]

not a bad idea to take a step back and look when it comes to a project like this, take your time

 

[ICTGoober]

Or you can make it thicker by laminating on veneer.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Yeah, as Chris said, you should be laminating on a veneer or two anyway (which will probably require you to do even more shaving down of the headstock).

 

[ICTGoober]

They have 2 functions - adding strength, and adding visual interest.

 

[blakejcan]

sorry, I should have been more clear. I mean that the top of the headstock, the very top, was shaved down. As in shaved down from the top towards the nut. Not the front to back thickness.

 

[ICTGoober]

If I understand you correctly, you mean thinner at the far end?
Lots of old archtops were done that way - Gibson, D'Angelico, etc.
I don't know why, I don't think I've heard a reason.

 

[GuitarDoc]

sorry, I should have been more clear. I mean that the top of the headstock, the very top, was shaved down. As in shaved down from the top towards the nut. Not the front to back thickness.

From your pics, I don't see a problem there.

 

[blakejcan]

Sorry fellas. I was out of the country for a bit but now I'm back. Let me show you what I'm talking about.The stringer up the middle is not lining up with the highest point of the bump on the top of the headstock which makes me think it was shaved down at one point.

 

[ICTGoober]

I say no. They just didn't pay attention when they sawed out the overall shape.

 

[blakejcan]

haha works for me. I'm going to sandwich it in there anyway

 

[GuitarDoc]

Yeah, nothing to worry about.

 

[blakejcan]

I cleaned the glue out of the old headstock repair and I dry-fit the headstock back on to see what it would look like. When I do it without clamping it is twisted which the pic below shows. When I clamp it then it looks quite a bit better but still not perfect. I can take a pic of that too. In looking at it, what little wood remains of the headstock that is still on the body seems to be a bit bent on the left side (when looking down the headstock towards the body as in the pic).

Any amazing insights here? I'm leaning towards just gluing it together, clamping it as level as I can and seeing what I got.​

 

[ICTGoober]

Funky looks aside, I don't foresee any troubles...
Especially if the twist can be manipulated once re-glued.
The important thing is the neck is good.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Yeah, that won't hurt anything to be slightly bent. But you could correct it by planing down the high side on both front and back. Yes it will make the headstock thinner, but you will be gluing on veneers anyway which could restore the correct thickness (about 1/2").

 

[blakejcan]

I think that's the route I'll be going. I already have to plane it flat just to get the veneers glued on. It's pretty rounded over on the sides and high in the middle right now.

 

[ICTGoober]

Drive on.

 

[blakejcan]

Just glued the headstock back on last night. Still sitting in clamps. Definitely a bit wonk but I'll figure it out. I'll share some pics but missing some wood on the backside of the truss rod cavity.

 

[GuitarDoc]

I applaud your ambition and positive attitude about this repair.

 

[blakejcan]

Thank. I appreciate the support and guidance.

here are some pics of the latest. Glued headstock back on and well.....it's at quite an angle. Any leftover nail heads or other weird spots I'm going to fill in with dowels as best I can. Then my plan is to start very carefully shaving and sanding the headstock to get it as flat as I can and see where I'm at.

Hopefully once that is done I can then start adding back some thick veneers in a sort of backstrap configuration that will go past the neckbreak and into the more stable neck below.

 

[ICTGoober]

You have the right idea. Go slow, do it right.
When you're done - it will be awesome.