Members 6down1togo Posted December 11, 2017 Members Share Posted December 11, 2017 Quite a while back I posted about wanting to laminate some body matching veneer onto a couple Fender-style headstocks. I failed miserably. First off, I could not find spalted maple veneer as it apparently too fragile to slice into veneer sheets. I found what is called "Spalted Ambrosia" which looked kinda sorta like spalted maple but not as dramatic and lacking the "black spider webbing". I tried bonding the veneer with contact adhesive and the veneer wouldn't stay adhered in the cove behind the nut. I tried an adhesive called HeatLock which you apply like white glue, let dry and iron on the veneer. Same result. It held fast to the flat portion but wouldn't hold the veneer to the curve, I was too lazy to shape a caul (reverse form) to clamp the veneer in place using white glue and bailed out. I took the coward's way out and grained the faces of the headstocks ... mmmmmaybe close enough but lacking the depth of real wood. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted December 11, 2017 Members Share Posted December 11, 2017 The Tele headstock looks okay, I don't care for the Strat one but that's personal taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted December 11, 2017 Members Share Posted December 11, 2017 The tele one looks ok. I think if you added a few coats of clear, then added some more of the grain look via paint, then a few more coats of clear, the depth would show up. ( I did faux marble finishes for years, and one of the techniques is to do base paint, clear, veining, clear, more veins, clear, then some "smoke" then clear the living crap out of it.)The strat one..... uhhhhhhhhh, do you like it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted December 11, 2017 Members Share Posted December 11, 2017 Since you asked, I'll be honest. I really like it when a builder carries a theme all the way thru a guitar (and you did that on the LP with matching knobs, rings, f/b, p/g). Using the same wood on the head as the body is a really nice touch. These both look a little bit forced. Since your last foray into veneering headplates I ran into these folks - I haven't used any of their products but they seem to have about every veneer you can think of and people seem to like the Super Soft 2 for making them bend. https://www.veneersupplies.com/products/Super-Soft-2-Veneer-Softener-Conditioner.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 I have to agree - I think it would be best to use actual veneers on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted December 12, 2017 Author Members Share Posted December 12, 2017 Yeah, That Strat one is not so hot. The Tele is a maybe. Freeman, I looked at that softener and will give it a try since I will be wiping the Strat clean anyway. Unfortunately, here is what that spalted ambrosia looks like. I can make the color right, but it really has no spalted character, just a few grayish streaks in it. I my try some other veneers and try to find something with more character. Spalted Ambrosia: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted December 12, 2017 Members Share Posted December 12, 2017 Well, by definition, spalted wood has been affected by a fungus and is, more or less, rotten. I think we discussed this a long time ago. I've never worked with it but have seen it used for accents on guitars, often in the rosette of an acoustic. My understanding is that usually the wood worker tries to stabilize it with epoxy or something that will keep it from falling apart. I know there are different degrees of "spalt" - but I really do think you are creating a lot of work for yourself. The softener is to help wood bend. Where I hear of it being used is bending sides for acoustic guitars. I have some stunning cocobolo that I'm about ready to bend, I've been debating whether to try it (I've bent close to 20 guitars without it but when I think of what I paid for the coco I want to hedge all my bets.). As we discussed a long time ago, I'm pretty convinced that you could have bent the veneer for your head piece over a hot pipe, the softener might let you do it cold. I don't know, haven't used it Good to see you working on these projects, I'd kind of thought maybe you had been beamed up by space aliens or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted December 12, 2017 Members Share Posted December 12, 2017 Looks like chocolate pudding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted December 12, 2017 Author Members Share Posted December 12, 2017 Looks like chocolate pudding Or worse. Skid marks come to mind. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted December 12, 2017 Author Members Share Posted December 12, 2017 Well' date=' by definition, spalted wood has been affected by a fungus and is, more or less, rotten. I think we discussed this a long time ago. I've never worked with it but have seen it used for accents on guitars, often in the rosette of an acoustic. My understanding is that usually the wood worker tries to stabilize it with epoxy or something that will keep it from falling apart. I know there are different degrees of "spalt" - but I really do think you are creating a lot of work for yourself. [/quote'] Yes. The veneer guys tell me no spalted maple veneer is available as it just crumbles as it is sliced. You can get boards and possibly a head plate but no veneers. That spalted ambrosia may be as close as I will get. I found this veneer called Figured Etimoe (pic below) which may be workable also. I must be a glutton for punishment but the plain maple headstocks were just was too bland looking. My abilities are pretty limited but I may also try steam through some perforated CPVC and see how it conforms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted December 12, 2017 Members Share Posted December 12, 2017 I agree that Fender headstocks are bland looking, but that is what I expect to see when I look at a Fender. I've tried tarting them up a bit with both my initials and a little inlay but honestly I'm not too happy with the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted December 13, 2017 Author Members Share Posted December 13, 2017 Fortunately, it is reversible. I had plenty of clear in the headstocks before I hit my head and thought I could fake it. lol We're back to plain headstocks again and in all likelihood, they will stay that way. I may pick up a MIC "throw-away" neck to experiment with glueing the veneer on and see how it goes and just assemble these two projects as-is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted December 13, 2017 Members Share Posted December 13, 2017 I really prefer a subtle, straight grain on a headstock or gloss black. Large figure just doesn't fit the small size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted December 14, 2017 Members Share Posted December 14, 2017 My suggestions would be - try the softener or bend with heat - make a clamping caul that fits the curve - remove all of the finish (and probably wood about the thickness of the veneer. I think you want a sharp edge to butt up against) - use Titebond or hide glue (probably not a choice). Put waxed paper on your caul to keep from gluing it to the headstock I haven't done a Fender style head but I assume you want to veneer the curve up to the nut. Remember that fender does (or did) that by shoving the neck into a drum sander - that is the radius of the drum. You probably should take the thickness of your veneer off before you start - both to fit the curve better and so that your tuners will fit properly. I have veneered the backs of some heads - its called a backstrap and is done for two reasons. One, it strengthens a weak area of the neck and two it can be dramatic looking. Here is the back of my L5 clone with a rosewood backstrap In this case I am reinforcing the back of a broken headstock. I've inlayed a little piece of carbon fiber and I'll cover it with a mahogany back strap - the idea isn't for looks but it give a lot of strength to that area The rosewood in the first is about 0.050 and the mahogany is about 0.090 so they aren't really "veneers". Both were bent to fit the curve, the wood was planed away to maintain the proper thickness, the backstrap was glued with shaped cauls and finally, a bunch of work was done to shape them to fit the neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted December 14, 2017 Author Members Share Posted December 14, 2017 That headstock is beautiful. I need to be less lazy and just go out n the garage and shape a caul (1x4 cutoff) to match the radius and get them done properly. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted December 14, 2017 Members Share Posted December 14, 2017 That headstock is beautiful. I need to be less lazy and just go out n the garage and shape a caul (1x4 cutoff) to match the radius and get them done properly. Thanks. Thank you. Show off time, here is the working side [img2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i51.photobucket.com\/albums\/f387\/Freeman_Keller\/Archtop\/IMG_3585_zpsqwdkidzd.jpg"}[/img2] Neck is mahogany, f/b, headplate, backstrap, truss rod cover (and all the other wood pieces including pick guard and pup rings) are rosewood, binding all around the guitar is flamed maple (to match the back and sides). Comes back to what I was talking about earlier - I like to carry wood themes all the way thru the guitar - usually one or two primary woods and one for accents. When you build your caul you can use that to bend your veneer against either with the softener or with a hot pipe. When I'm working on the pipe I always have some sort of mold to clamp the piece to while it cools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.