A bad decision has been made
- Thread starter blakejcan
- Start date
blakejcan
Well-known member
I have most of the shape in there and it looks pretty darn good. I've been comparing it as best I can to original neck pictures and
Best I can find of an original neck from the back:
And here is what mine is looking like as of now. I need to round down the backstrap more on the back of the neck as it feels a bit proud and wonky but naturally I want to remove as little meat as possible. Any guidance here is welcome.
I also have little bits of glue around the edges of where I glued the backstrap on that I'd like to get rid of but not exactly sure how to do it without eating into the backstrap itself. Might just learn to live with it. Feeling close though! Once I get all this stuff done on the back I'll try and figure out the front. It's still a bit uneven and I'll have to add some more stuff on top and then figure out a way to bring it back to even before putting on the headstock veneer and then cooking up a way to somehow figure out the headstock binding. But for real, if this holds together then I feel great about doing everything else.
Best I can find of an original neck from the back:
And here is what mine is looking like as of now. I need to round down the backstrap more on the back of the neck as it feels a bit proud and wonky but naturally I want to remove as little meat as possible. Any guidance here is welcome.
I also have little bits of glue around the edges of where I glued the backstrap on that I'd like to get rid of but not exactly sure how to do it without eating into the backstrap itself. Might just learn to live with it. Feeling close though! Once I get all this stuff done on the back I'll try and figure out the front. It's still a bit uneven and I'll have to add some more stuff on top and then figure out a way to bring it back to even before putting on the headstock veneer and then cooking up a way to somehow figure out the headstock binding. But for real, if this holds together then I feel great about doing everything else.
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blakejcan
Well-known member
Ok, I'm not taking anything else off the back. I am very happy with how it looks. I am nervous that I didn't leave enough meat on there for it to hold on with string tension but it does at least run from between the 1st and 2nd fret all the way through the top of the headstock. That's a long stretch of good, solid maple. I was also able to get it to a place where the back of the headstock looks very level relative to the neck and body. You may remember that somehow it got twisted up a bit either from the previous repair, previous poor sanding job or whatever.
Now I need to layer on some more wood on the top of the headstock, level that off and then put on the headstock veneer with the overlay. Once I get that done I'll put tuners on it, string it up and see if it all falls apart. If it does, I am pretty sure I will cry alone in my closet while smoking cigs and listening to the Cure for a couple days. Wish me luck!
Now I need to layer on some more wood on the top of the headstock, level that off and then put on the headstock veneer with the overlay. Once I get that done I'll put tuners on it, string it up and see if it all falls apart. If it does, I am pretty sure I will cry alone in my closet while smoking cigs and listening to the Cure for a couple days. Wish me luck!
blakejcan
Well-known member
Working on the front of the headstock now and sizing up a piece to level out and add meat to the top. About ready to glue that up this week and then I'll be ready to string it up and see what happens.
Now I have another fun thing going on with the finish. The neck for sure has been refinished once. I have found big drips on various parts of the body, there is color in various parts of the binding and on the back in particular there were pieces of clear that were coming up.
Like a kid with a scab I started picking at it and couldn't stop. Big chunks of it came up with minimal effort and whenever any part of it came off there was a little bit of kind of dusty kind of residue hiding underneath. I either just peeled off all of the original nitro and I'm a moron or this is some weird overspray of some sort that just flaked right off. I don't know. Do you?
Either way, looks like I'll be respraying the back at least.
Judge me for this one. I deserve it.
Now I have another fun thing going on with the finish. The neck for sure has been refinished once. I have found big drips on various parts of the body, there is color in various parts of the binding and on the back in particular there were pieces of clear that were coming up.
Like a kid with a scab I started picking at it and couldn't stop. Big chunks of it came up with minimal effort and whenever any part of it came off there was a little bit of kind of dusty kind of residue hiding underneath. I either just peeled off all of the original nitro and I'm a moron or this is some weird overspray of some sort that just flaked right off. I don't know. Do you?
Either way, looks like I'll be respraying the back at least.
Judge me for this one. I deserve it.
You're doing amazing so far.
By the way, final thickness of the headstock should be about 1/2". It usually doesn't matter much if it's a little over or under that. But in your case, I'd leave it a little thicker for that extra strength that you want. I've seen headstocks that were 9/16 - 5/8". Just make sure, before you start finishing it, that the tuners are going to fit.
By the way, final thickness of the headstock should be about 1/2". It usually doesn't matter much if it's a little over or under that. But in your case, I'd leave it a little thicker for that extra strength that you want. I've seen headstocks that were 9/16 - 5/8". Just make sure, before you start finishing it, that the tuners are going to fit.
blakejcan
Well-known member
what do we think about this headstock veneer and inlay? It's pretty dang old and fragile but I'm sure I can get it on there.
My concern is that there are some wood bits that have chipped out around the lettering on the inlay. If this was an all black Gibson headstock then I'd be fine to use black CA glue to fill the gaps but in this case it's mostly a dark brown walnut stain. I guess I could still fill in the gaps with CA and do a solid walnut laquer on top?
This is what I got:
and this is what I am going for:
zz0.9pxkqz601y8zz
My concern is that there are some wood bits that have chipped out around the lettering on the inlay. If this was an all black Gibson headstock then I'd be fine to use black CA glue to fill the gaps but in this case it's mostly a dark brown walnut stain. I guess I could still fill in the gaps with CA and do a solid walnut laquer on top?
This is what I got:
and this is what I am going for:
zz0.9pxkqz601y8zz
Lucius Paisley
New member
Just an aside for Mincer. (Or any forum administrator) Any idea why the forum is "breaking" while adding photos to posts? I've been getting those extra letters i.e. zz0.9etc... as well. I go back and delete them with no issue, but I didn't realise it was happening to other people.
Honestly, it is completely random for me. Sometimes it happens when I edit posts (texts), more if I edit a post with photos.
