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Gluing on peghead ears

By gluing “ears” onto the peghead you can save material as this allows using a neck blank that isn't much wider than the end of the fingerboard. Use a sufficient number of clamps.

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Fitting the truss rod cover strip

When the cover strip (fillet) is the right width, saw it off to truss rod channel length and round off one end in accordance with the diameter of the router bit. Apply some glue and gently press the strip into the channel; use several clamps over the whole length of the strip (If you use a one-way twin rod, make sure it is placed in the channel the right way round). The truss rod must remain movable. It is advisable to put on the truss rod nut first and, in the case of hex nuts, to also stack on the adjustment wrench. When fitting a twin-rod system no clamps must be used; instead, knock the strip in gently (1). Remove any excess glue after about 20 minutes. After the glue has set plane down the protruding wood to just above neck surface (2). Move the plane carefully and without tilting it to one side or the other to avoid damaging the neck. Finally, take a scraper and scrape the remaining wood flush with the neck.

Making the peghead

Gluing on the peghead veneer

The peghead veneer for angled-back heads should be between 2mm and 3mm (3/32" - 1/8") thick, but depending on how much had to be removed to make the head flat the veneer can also be thicker or thinner than that. Try to choose veneer which looks pretty and whose color matches that of the rest of the guitar. The veneer could, for example, be of the same type of hardwood as is used for the body or the neck, or it could, in fact, be any type of hardwood with pretty grain pattern. You can either use a small board planed down to the appropriate thickness or several layers of thin sheets of veneer (3). Bevel the nut-end edge of the peghead veneer so that it butts up right against the nut. If the peghead has an angle of 15 degrees, the edge of the veneer has to have an angle of 75 degrees. Some finished bone nuts have an additional slant of 7 degrees so that the edge would have to be

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slanted at an angle of below 68 degrees to make it butt up against the nut. Also remember to cut out an opening for allowing access to the adjustment nut. Copy its outline on a piece of paper and transfer it onto the veneer. Only one layer of thin veneer must be glued onto necks without separate fingerboard (one-piece necks) and with angled-back head as otherwise the veneer would be in the way of the strings.

For gluing on the peghead veneer fasten a stop block at the line where the head angle starts. Apply glue thinly and evenly all over the head surface, lay the veneer on it and rub it on. When the glue is beginning to grab push the veneer against the stop block. Use six clamps and a clamping caul to press the veneer onto the head (4). Tighten the clamps evenly and a little at a time. If the veneer should start to move away from the stop block, untighten the clamps immediately and correct the position of the veneer.

Instead of using heavy, ordinary clamps for gluing on the peghead veneer you can use light-weight spring clamps made of plastic. The 2mm maple peghead veneer shown in picture 5 is glued on with the help of a 10mm (3/8")-thick plexiglass caul.

As an alternative you can cut the veneer afterwards. To keep the veneer from sliding away during gluing use a longer piece that protrudes into the nut area. After the glue is dry you can use a block as a guide (as shown in picture 6) for sawing the veneer to the correct angle and length.

Sawing out the peghead shape

Before sawing out the head extend the neck center line to the end of it. Line the peghead template up on centers with the neck center line and fasten the neck so that the head is horizontal and accessible from all sides. Then transfer the shape of the peghead template onto the head and mark the centers of the pegholes with a sharp needle.

The peghead shape is cut out with either a jigsaw (7), a bandsaw or a coping saw. Cut just outside the drawn line. For bandsawing you can draw the outline of the head onto the back

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Alternatives

to a peghead inlay

If you do not want a peghead inlay, it's about time to think of alternatives for a peghead logo. There are a lot of possibilities and your imagination is challenged.Trademarks are, of course, owned by the respective companies. Apart from that I find it rather strange to write Fender or Gibson or something else well known on your guitar .

Just a few possibilities:

-Write your signature on the peghead with a felt pen or a thin paint marker

-Put on rub-off symbols or letters

-Design your logo on a computer, print it out on transparency film, cut it out and glue it on.

It is very important that you test in advance if the material used for the logo is compatible with the finishing method chosen (a logo written with a paint marker might, for instance, dissolve when you apply lacquer).

Some more possibilities:

-Chip carving

-Screw on a small brass name plate.These are available very cheap.

-Use of a branding iron.

of the head, or you could use a block of wood onto which the angled head can be placed horizontally.

Fitting a peghead inlay

Inlays are traditionally made from mother of pearl or abalone. A modern and easy-to-work-with alternative is AbaLam. The patented AbaLam laminated shell is made from genuine abalone shell in thin epoxy-bonded layers, which saves resources. All these inlay materials come in thin, flat sheets. Always wear a respirator mask when cutting shell materials as their dust is toxic. There are also pre-cut and shaped inlays available.

Inlays can also be made from veneer or different types of metal. Even compact discs no longer needed can be recycled for inlay material use. Use a very fine jeweler's saw to cut out inlays.

Using tiny bits of double-stick tape, fasten the inlay symbol in the desired place and then scratch its outline into the wood with a fine knife (1); make several passes to make the outline deeper.

After that carefully lift off the inlay with a flat knife. If the wood is very dark, you might want to paint a thin layer of whitener from your water color paintbox on the inlay area before. Working in a well-lit area and with the help of a headband magnifier makes inlay work considerably easier.

Using a very fine router bit the inlay area is routed deeper (2). A standard tool for such inlay work is the Dremel mini router. The router should be set so that it cuts just marginally less deep than the thickness of the inlay piece. By moving the cutter carefully along the outline small chips will be produced that will fall out of the way. This makes it possible to rout very precisely along the line. Tight corners have to be cut with a knife later. Check at regular intervals whether the inlay fits and use a knife for making any recuts that might be necessary. When the inlay fits exactly into the cut-out area it can be glued on with 5-minute epoxy (3) or super glue; use a clamp and a small caul for gluing. When the glue has set sand the inlay flush with the surface. The inlay shown in picture 4 is a thin piece of brass polished to a shine with steel wool and cut out with scissors.