Headstock Design

[forthoseofus]

Hi all, just wondering what you think of the headstock design I am thinking about for my ST-1.

I saw this designhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/crimson...n/photostream/ and liked it. For some reason I really liked the hole in the headstock.
I still wanted a place to put a string tree should I need it (I've got staggered tuners) so a direct copy of the design would not be suitable.

I came up with the following design
-An initial sketch, and
-a better one done on computer

Any one have any comments, or things to look out for in this design.
I'm going to be doing this with jigsaw, files, and good old fashion sandpaper, as those are pretty much all the tools I have available to me.

I might pickup a cheap piece of pine to practice on.

Quote from forthoseofus on December 28, 2012, 11:34
Hi all, just wondering what you think of the headstock design I am thinking about for my ST-1.

Ah, memories of the Floyd Rose headstock.

The Floyd Rose headstock was nothing more than an outline, but then, the strings stopped at the nut so they didn't put any tension on the headstock. Enough of the history lesson.

OK, the good news. Technically, you're not removing anywhere near enough material to affect the stability of the headstock, so go for it as designed.

(I'd only go as far as that in the photo if I had a solid and very stable piece of quartersawn timber. I'd err by 5% on the cautious side and more likely 10%. There's nothing worse than finishing it then finding you went to 101% of it's strength... - dingobass- your thoughts on requirements for a headstock like the photo?)

And the bad news- well, there ain't any bad news! It's your guitar and you want to do it, so do it. After all, that's why you're building a kit, not a buying a finished guitar.

I don't know how you are considering doing this, but a template and a router may be an option.

[MikeL]

Don't mind it at all I even rendered it to give a better look at it for you ( low quality tho, I'm at work

[dingobass]

Quote from dmac on December 28, 2012, 12:43

Quote from forthoseofus on December 28, 2012, 11:34
Hi all, just wondering what you think of the headstock design I am thinking about for my ST-1.

Ah, memories of the Floyd Rose headstock.

The Floyd Rose headstock was nothing more than an outline, but then, the strings stopped at the nut so they didn't put any tension on the headstock. Enough of the history lesson.

OK, the good news. Technically, you're not removing anywhere near enough material to affect the stability of the headstock, so go for it as designed.

(I'd only go as far as that in the photo if I had a solid and very stable piece of quartersawn timber. I'd err by 5% on the cautious side and more likely 10%. There's nothing worse than finishing it then finding you went to 101% of it's strength... - dingobass- your thoughts on requirements for a headstock like the photo?)

And the bad news- well, there ain't any bad news! It's your guitar and you want to do it, so do it. After all, that's why you're building a kit, not a buying a finished guitar.

I don't know how you are considering doing this, but a template and a router may be an option.

I don't see any problems there

If it was a Bass headstock I would be a bit wary as the string tension is phenomenal compared to a guitar.

Another option for string trees is to use a retainer bar, they look a lot neater as you can install it closer to the nut.

Quote from dingobass on December 28, 2012, 17:20

Another option for string trees is to use a retainer bar, they look a lot neater as you can install it closer to the nut.

I always put staggered Sperzel locking tuning machines on the table as an option, so you need no string retention whatsoever. I put them on the Telecowster years ago as an experiment and have never thrown a string. Or, come to think of it, broken one either.

I don't know if the Chinese copies have staggered heights. I doubt it.

[dingobass]

Quote from dmac on December 28, 2012, 22:17

Quote from dingobass on December 28, 2012, 17:20

Another option for string trees is to use a retainer bar, they look a lot neater as you can install it closer to the nut.

I always put staggered Sperzel locking tuning machines on the table as an option, so you need no string retention whatsoever. I put them on the Telecowster years ago as an experiment and have never thrown a string. Or, come to think of it, broken one either.

I don't know if the Chinese copies have staggered heights. I doubt it.

I have seen Chinese copies of staggered Sperzels, but..... Why buy copies? Been down that path with the Axe of Destiny. Got a copy Floyd Rose and, well, it will be replaced with the real thing in the near future... You get what you pay for... :?

[MikeL]

This is what I did with my ST-1 head ( Guitar should be completed this month )

Love the paint job, ended up looking pretty slick!

[Bass Guy]

This is looking awesome! Right up my street!

[rhay]

Certainly a really original design. To my eye the finished piece looks much better than the original sketch - really good execution.