Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wayho on February 3, 2014 at 1:05pm

And it doesn't have to be one of these..........

What do YOU consider best?

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Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on February 3, 2014 at 1:41pm

I never did a scarf joint peg head...but I do use the pocket peg head design a lot.    

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Permalink Reply by Wayho on February 3, 2014 at 2:10pm

That's AWESOME Randy! I may have to try one like that in the near future.

I'm already wondering how many pieces of wood I'm gonna screw up before I get it right!

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Permalink Reply by t-belly johnson on February 3, 2014 at 2:16pm

A joint, by its very nature is weak so the ideal method for me is to have no joint at all. At least not a scarf joint or the like.

I laminate several, pre-cut pieces of hardwood that are already shaped for the neck and headstock. Titebonded together they are extremely strong and are easy to shape with a spokeshave and file/sandpaper.

All the excess material can be used for fretboards or for bracing.

Another good thing is that you can usually get off cuts, between 5-10mm thick, for pennies.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on February 3, 2014 at 4:18pm

No best, they all work. No Rulz! Check out ED (Badfinger) and his "twisted" headstock scarf joint, fer example.

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Permalink Reply by 14 buck bass (aka antonio) on February 3, 2014 at 5:42pm

I use the number two method, Im new to this but I think that with the added glue and wood support of the fret board it makes the joint stronger.  Ive had no poblems either way though cause ive used both.  I just like the way number two looks too , to me it looks cleaner at the joint. 

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on February 3, 2014 at 8:17pm

I prefer the 2nd method for two reasons - the fretboard acts as an additional laminated  "splice" over the joint, and secondly there's no visible joint in the headstock. T Belly - you're not 100% correct in your assertion that a joint is weak. The strength of a good tight glue joint will be better than the strength of the wood itself. The main advantage of a scarf is that it orients the timber grain so it's acting in the most efficient way. It probably doesn't have that much real world effect on the instrument...until it gets dropped or receives a hefty knock against the headstock. I've done a few headstock repairs on scarf jointed (6 string) headstocks, and on each one it was the timber that had failed not the glue joint.

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on February 3, 2014 at 10:00pm

Yep. Cept I'd argue that the main advantage is you use less wood

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Permalink Reply by t-belly johnson on February 4, 2014 at 1:26am

I`m sure you`re right John but I`ve never had a neck go on me yet...

Another thing about the laminate route, for me anyway, is that the finish looks so good. I just love to see 3 or 4 different shades of timber along the neck and headstock.

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Permalink Reply by David McQueen on February 4, 2014 at 1:19am

I use #1 with a head veneer on top. I like a longer head stock to get a good string drop. No string tree needed.

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on February 4, 2014 at 1:56am

The second is my favorite with a twist.

I also like slotted head stocks.  I've done a few.

And then there's the simple step-down peg head.  This one stepped a bit too far and I'd do it a little differently next time.  I had envisioned a pretty complex carving of steps, but running short of time and patience I did them all on one level.

So, yeah.  I guess I like all different types.  :)

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