How To Design A Guitar Headstock - GUITAR BUILDING TIPS 

So happy to start off a new series for you guys! Let me know how I did with this first one (my camera settings were off, so sorry for the noise and exposure). What would YOU want to know about guitar building?

this video deserves more likes

Ive looked everywhere for this information and could not find it till i came across your channel and its explained in easy terms that even i can understand , many thanks bud 😁😁🤘🤘

I have always started with a center line, and a half design that can be flipped over. Use a sharp pencil. Use a silver colored pencil on ebony or rosewood veneers. Head stocks are easy. Make up several possibilities, chose the one that catches your fancy. Save the rejects for future ideas. Too much fun is to be had.

To simplify this somewhat, for a six in line headstock with straight pull (generally speaking), for the fairly standard nut widths of 1-11/16" to 1.703" and string spacings of 1-15/32" and 1-17/32", respectively, the angle of the tuner side should launch from the center line at 15°. Accounting for the touch points of the strings to the tuner posts, position the center points of the through holes between 15/32" and .500" from the edge of the tuner side, spaced at roughly 1" to 1-1/32" along a centerline of the holes. This is very close to what Fender has been doing for decades. Edit: Use a draftsman's circle template. Also, consider the proximity of the tuner closest to the nut, and try to make sure it isn't too close. This is to accommodate the tuner body, and also to make sure there is not insufficient string between the nut and the tuner. For most six in line headstocks, there should be about 1.500" from the nut to the nearest tuner.

Interesting. For straight string pulls, where do you plan the location of each tuner peg in relation to the peg's string line? - Put the centerline of the peg on the string line? - Put the tighten edge of the peg (during righty-tight tuner turns of the tuner knob) on the peg's string line? - Or some other placement of the tuner peg in relation to the string line? Do you need to account for the diameter widening as the more of the string wraps around the peg? During design, what diameter do you use for the peg (not the hole to be drilled) in order to properly place the machine head in relation to its string line?

Same process on 7s?

I would note a couple of problems with these designs, just to make sure no one else accidentally repeats the mistakes. The first is just minor and has to do with the shape of the 6-in-line shape. Your cutout opposite of the tuners is too deep. You probably shouldn't be crossing the string with the desired shape line. I mean you could, I suppose... it probably wouldn't hurt anything directly, but it leaves the E string exposed with no protective wood around it. If you bump something within that scoop design, it's going to hit the string before the headstock. Like I said, kind of minor. Don't hit the headstock, and it'll be fine. The other is an issue with the 3+3 design. You've used two conflicting thoughts here. You made a curved shape, but then just aligned the tuning machine holes in a straight V pattern. The tuning machine holes, as you stated with the 6-in-line headstock (5:54), need to be a specific distance in from the edge of the headstock. They should follow the shape of the headstock, while also remaining at an equal offset distance from the edge of the headstock. In your example, the D and G machines for sure, and likely also the A and B machines, are not going to function, because the handles/buttons/whatever-they're-called are going to be directly under the wood of the headstock. Two solutions to this dilemma are seen between a Les Paul headstock and a Flying V headstock. Form vs function. On a Les Paul (a pretty typical 3+3 style) the D and G strings break out at more severe angles away from center due to the distant tuners needing to maintain the edge offset of the heastock design. On a Flying V, the shape of the headstock is modified to an atypical arrow head shape in order to keep the strings straight while maintaining the edge offset. This is actually more analogous to a 6-in-line style. Musicman's 4+2 headstock uses the same intersecting angle style (triangular), but they have a little more design leeway still, due to the offset number of machines on each side. It leaves room for a sort of bubble area to make the shape move outside of just a triangle. On a Flying V triangle style, the only place to make any innovation is to vary the overall length of the headstock, stretching or squishing the triangle, so to speak, or by adding a sort of ornamental design to the tip of the triangle (Sort of like an Ovation headstock, or your preliminary axe-head style shape before you modified it to be shorter).

I’m sorry but the commentary about “tension” of strings beyond the nut seemed like nonsense to me. In my mind, the key consideration is the break angle and downward pressure at the nut. Thinner strings require more break angle/downward pressure at the nut. That is why Fender 6 in line headstocks typically require string trees. A reverse headstock eliminates that concern. So does the MusicMan 4x2 approach, although the G string could still be problematic if the tuning machine is too far from the nut. You also left out a critical consideration: what are the dimensions of the back of the tuning machines? Will they interfere with each other?

How do you figure out the neck angle? That's what my issue has been, and also would like to know about cresting a volute? Thanks great video.

Just staret watching your videos, and I think your content is great! Keep up the good work. I would like to learn more about the neck (break) angle for a set-neck guitar. I am about to embark on my first guitar building journey, and the thing I am currently most concerned about is getting the correct neck angle for my bridge. How do I find the correct angle for the heel, and how to I apply it in practice?

and for 12 strings?

First time headstock designer here. Are you measuring 12mm from the edge of the tuner side to edge of the 10mm tuning key hole, or to the center of the tuning key hole?

do you take the string guage into consideration for string spacing at the nut/bridge?

Hello sir! Designing a inline headstock has never been a problem for me. It’s so easy because it has a straight line on the edge as a guide. But how do you make sure the 3+3 headstock shape works with actual tuning machine perfectly? Some model of tuning machine don’t come with accurate blueprint (missing some important dimensions) Do you make several testing template and mount the tuning machine on then adjust the design accordingly?

or use chequered paper as an easy guide

How would you work out where to place the tuning machine holes for the 3x3 design? I'm going for the same design were the machines go steadily inward. 😅 Preferably I don't want to mess this up.

lol, I think your designs are just the opposite...the first one is way worse looking than the second.