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Clean up with a small fine file and the new dots are ready for a sand and polish when I start the neck finishing.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...TB-neck_18.jpg
I also decided to tart up the headstock a bit with a nicely flamed English Sycamore veneer. The veneer is only .6mm thick, so the first step was to notch where the maple joins the rosewood fretboard so that I wouldn't have to taper the already thin veneer.
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Then, rough cut the veneer to an oversized shape and with the flame at the angle I wanted.
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Because the angle of the truss rod hole is tough to pre-drill in the veneer, I drilled an undersized hole so that I could ream it out once the veneer was glued in place.
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A quick wet down and steam of the veneer with a clothes iron softened it and allowed me to clamp it in place to pre-shape it with headstock's curve.
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Pre-shaped and ready to glue… I did a few rehearsals to ensure I could get it clamped to match the headstock's curve.
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Glad I rehearsed it first, as it still took longer than I expected to get it seated and clamped correctly.
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It worked!
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Some careful work with a sharp blade trimmed most of the edges down close to the headstock, but still leaving a little excess.
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A few minutes with a bearing guided sanding drum and then some 120grit blocks and it was shaped nicely.
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A small round file, some sandpaper and a lot of care to ensure I didn't tear the thin section above the hole, and the truss rod access was nicely shaped. I then clamped some soft scrap wood on the face of the headstock over the tuner holes and used a sharp brad point drill bit to clear the holes.
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Finally, I used some maple filings (literally a file on some veneer scraps) to fill any gaps along the maple/rosewood join and then wicked in some thin SM super glue.
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Good time to knock out the old plastic nut in prep for finishing the neck, looks like they were again pretty sloppy with the glue. Very gentle taps with the hammer on the dowel from each side of nut inline with the neck, back and forth repeated until I hear the glue start to crack and separate. I then used the awl to tap it up out of the slot from the ends. I'll cut a new bone one at some point.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...TB-neck_21.jpg
Inlay time, in this case white MOP. I printed out a couple of copies of the design, super glued one directly to the MOP and stretched the other out on a saw frame and painted both sides of it with brush-on super glue to harden it.
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I forgot how tedious and nerve wracking cutting MOP can be, but after drilling some starter holes and then using a jewellers saw I soon had it roughly cut out. Sand paper and small files finished up the shape. Remember to wear a mask when cutting MOP.
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Finished MOP and hardened pattern.
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Once I was happy with the position of the inlay I marked the area with low tack tape and then 'painted' the headstock inside the box with liquid paper… yes, white out. Making sure it was a thin coat but that it completely sealed the area.
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Once it was dry I removed the tape and double-checked the position with the pattern and the inlay.
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I then taped the area around the pattern and super glued the pattern into place on the liquid paper. The trick here is that the super glue will stick onto the liquid paper well enough to hold the pattern in place while you're routing, but the liquid paper itself can be sanded and scraped off the headstock without leaving a residue like glue would. At least, that's been my experience.
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I taped up the surrounding area, ensuring that the tape matched the height of the pattern so that the router base has a level and even surface to travel on. i used some headstock offcuts around the outside to give me a larger flat area.
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A Dremel, a StewMac router base, and a 3/64" precision downcut router bit walk into a bar…
The trick is to get the depth of cut correct. You need to allow for the thickness of the inlay plus the thickness of the pattern and liquid paper. I usually aim to have the inlay fractionally proud of the headstock face once all the tape, pattern and liquid paper are removed.
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Once the routing is done, a test fit and a few tweaks with a sharp blade, a small file and some sand paper and it was looking ok.
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Tape removed then liquid paper scraped and sanded off.
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Glued in with thick super glue and then any gaps filled with maple filings, ready to be sanded flush and polished.
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Time to fit the headstock hardware and drill the holes ready for final sanding and finishing.
Making sure the tuners are aligned, before marking and drilling the screw holes.
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I normally wouldn't put the D/G tree so close to the A post, but I wanted to match the break angle across the strings. And, as these are locking tuners the tree's position shouldn't get in the way too much. At least, I hope not.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...adstock_31.jpg
Of course, whenever everything has been going well something catastrophic is bound to happen… and it always happens to the thing you're most pleased with. Cue disaster…
Just as I finished sanding the neck down to 240 grit the heel slipped off the workbench, the headstock twisted out of my hand, the neck rebounded off my thigh and careened into the metal frame of the bench!
After the rage subsided…
I inspected the damage only to find the beautiful, thin, smooth back of the neck looking like it had been in the mouth of a T-Rex. Dents, lumps and some broken fibres. Ouch. The damage didn't really show up in the photos, but a quick wipe with a damp cloth showed at least some of it.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...TB-neck_22.jpg
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Two options: fill and sand the dents, or try to steam them out. Filling and sanding wouldn't be ideal long-term on a flexing neck under tension, but given how much I've thinned the neck steaming it may risk it warping. I decided to take the chance and risk steaming out the dents.
First pass with the iron after lightly wetting the surface and then steaming through a damp cloth.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...TB-neck_23.jpg
Second pass, starting to look a bit better.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...TB-neck_24.jpg
Third pass and then when dry a light sand with 240 grit… and it doesn't look like there's been any warping either, phew.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...TB-neck_25.jpg
