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Construction - Peghead 1
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1 Rims
2 Carving 1
3 Carving 2
4 Graduation		 5 Tone Bars
6 f-holes
7 Peghead Overlay 1
8 Peghead Overlay 2		 09 Body Assembly 1
10 Body Assembly 2
11 Binding 1
12 Binding 2		 13 Inlay
14 Dovetail 1
15 Dovetail 2
16 Dovetail 3		 17 Staining 1
18 Staining 2
19 Finishing 1
20 Finishing 2
21 Finishing 3
1

Getting the shape of the peghead “right” and doing a clean job of fitting and mitering the binding are hallmarks of a good instrument.

In the past, I would glue the ebony overlay to the neck blank before any shaping and binding was done. This method allowed a lot of control over shaping the headstock. But subsequently cutting back the rock-hard ebony to accept the binding was tedious in the extreme.

Currently, I’ve been shaping and binding the overlays before gluing them to the peghead. Several blanks and one of the jigs used are shown.

2

 

The series of dowels shown help bend some of the preliminary curves of the binding. One of the benefits of working with the pre-shaped overlay is the ability to use a heat gun with no concern over loosening other glue joints.

The downside is the challenge of targeting a final peghead shape based on the reduced size of the overlay.

 
3

There is nothing easy or simple about fitting, joining, and gluing the binding—lots of detail work and finger abuse.  Whatever it takes; whatever works!