I normally use cling film as my non-stick medium when using a caul for clamping, but I don't think that would work that well with dowel as you'd need a small gap in order to fit it, which will make the positioning less accurate.

I would have done the inlay on the veneer but not drilled the tuner holes. Trimmed the veneer down to be a bit larger than the headstock, stuck it on and then trimmed and drilled the holes.

What about drilling holes in a caul using the veneer as a template, gluing and clamping the veneer on and then immediately removing the dowels? Once the veneer is in place and clamped, you shouldn't need the dowels any more, so they don't need to remain whilst the glue dries.

Or else use the fretboard pinning method and knock a three of four thin panel pins into the headstock by a few mm, then cut off the pins about 1mm above the headstock face with angled (not flat edge) side-cutters so that they leave a pointed end. Use the dowel to locate the veneer onto the headstock face and tap it down so the veneer is then located by the pins. Then you can glue the headstock and clamp it with a flat caul without risk of the veneer slipping.

Very nice bear inlay!


Then stuck the