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Todd,

As you know I did my own things in terms of plans/design for my Lap-slides so if it's "authentic" they want this probably isn't it. But here goes:


Here are pictures of the head-block I made:







[QUOTE]
- How are the sides rabbeted into the head block?
[/QUOTE]

From the pictures you can see that there is a rebate for the sides in the head-block so that when they are glued they butt onto the headstock and the headstock is carved to meet them. When gkued up it looks like this:



[QUOTE]
- Is the top or back rabbeted into the head block?
[/QUOTE]

No'ish . The top glues on to the top of the head-block, but the headstock veneer on the downslope forms a sort of rebate (see above picture). The back is glued on as well and then blended into the curve of the headstock bottom.

[QUOTE]
- Is the head block full depth, and how far into the body does the block extend?
[/QUOTE]

The part of the head-block that is inside the hollow neck is full depth in terms of it having the top sides and back glued into it. I didn't take exact measurements but it goes back around 2-3" into the hollow neck.

[QUOTE]
- Is the nut placed on the headplate or on the top?
[/QUOTE]

I did mine on the top. You could do it on the headplaye I suppose but given the height of the nit I think it would be stronger on the top. Here's a picture of it finished:



[QUOTE]
- Do you use spruce neck doublers, or do you have another method of neck reinforcement?
[/QUOTE]

No. I used a lattice of carbon fibre in the hollow neck before the top was glued on. Plus as the top under the fretboard wasn't long enough I put a spruce brace in where the top stopped and an extra top piece was glued on to reach the headstock:



[QUOTE]
- What changes to original neck/body join construction techniques did you make, and why?
[/QUOTE]

Lots I suspect - because I do my own thang y'all I don't know what Herman did. I took my idea from Christophe Grellier.

_________________
Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

[quote]- How are the sides rabbeted into the head block? [/quote]
Same as Dave.

[quote]- Is the top or back rabbeted into the head block? [/quote]
I cut the headstock such that the top meets flush with the headplate.

[quote]- Is the head block full depth, and how far into the body does the block extend? [/quote]
It's full depth, extending (like Dave), around 2-3" into the neck.

[quote]- Is the nut placed on the headplate or on the top? [/quote]
Nut is on the headplate. The headplate starts flat and curves into the angle such that the nut is glued on the flat. 

[quote]- Do you use spruce neck doublers, or do you have another method of neck reinforcement? [/quote]
Solid spruce linings that extend the full length of the straight neck section, meeting up with the kerfed linings. I use brace billet offcuts.

[quote]- What changes to original neck/body join construction techniques did you make, and why?[/quote]
Can't really comment as I've not had the privilege of seeing a disassembled Weissenborn, but I suspect it's really more or less fairly similar.

Dave's photos are really good and I think answer most of these questions well, both for clones and non-clones.

Unfortunately I don't currently have any suitable photos, but if this topic's still around in a few days I might try. I'd like to put up some of my method for cutting the headstock on the bandsaw as that's one part of the build I wrestled with for ages until I came up with this idea, given the range of different angles and unflat surfaces you end up with as you make the cuts (I don't use a table router).

_________________
Richard
http://www.guitarmaker.com

You guys are more or less on the right track!  

those lie-nielsen floats are killer for this task also... you can get an edge one and face one, for the side "slots" in the head.

Chris,

It's English walnut sides with Sapele top and back.

_________________
Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

I have just finished doing the set-up on five guitars. The next project is definitely gonna be a Weiss... No fretting over frets, neck setback or intonation!
The original Weiss plans call for a mortise & tenon joint in the peghead / head block... Seems silly to go to all that work when it's easier (& stronger) to build the peghead & block in one piece, like Dave did.
When planning the top braces, it's good to keep in mind the extra high bridge / saddle. That's a lot of torque on the top & needs stiff bracing. A friend of mine has owned several original Weissenbornes & he told me they tend to be weak in the bridge area & above the soundhole. According to him, distortion (& failures)in the top were quite common. The Original Weiss braces were about 3/8" square (IIRC). I used a modified X brace pattern with the X braces 5/16" X 3/4" (before carving). Most of the other braces are 1/4" X 5/8", except for two beefy ladder braces above the soundhole.
When deciding on string height, I borrowed a capo from my buddy & made the strings just high enough to accommodate it. My strings ended up lower than Dave's. (I wanted to keep the string height as low as possible to minimize the torque on the top.)
This instrument is 18 months old now & there is no distortion in the top so far.
The next one is going to have A lutz top (Thanks Shane). I'm looking for some ribbon grain Sappele for the back & sides (In case any of you suppliers have some long pieces lying around)

Todd;
I used fretwire (as in the plans) for my saddle. I have a feeling it contributes to the "authentic" Weiss sound.
Any thoughts on that?
What do you guys use for fret markers? I have some 20/20/20 BWB purfling which fits perfectly in the kerf of my 7 1/4" Diablo blade. They look great in the Jatoba fretboard & show up well, even in low light situations.
Oh yeah... My fretboard is not much more than 1/8" thick. Wanted to keep the mass down as much as possible.
Also...Open gear Sperzel tuners are really light & feel just right on the Weiss I built.
What are you guys using for pickups?

Good thread Todd! There's not a whole bunch of info available on Weissenbornes. It's great to see what kind of experimenting others are doing.

[QUOTE=Daniel M] Todd;
What do you guys use for fret markers? I have some 20/20/20 BWB purfling which fits perfectly in the kerf of my 7 1/4" Diablo blade. They look great in the Jatoba fretboard & show up well, even in low light situations.
Oh yeah... My fretboard is not much more than 1/8" thick. Wanted to keep the mass down as much as possible.
Also...Open gear Sperzel tuners are really light & feel just right on the Weiss I built.
What are you guys using for pickups?

Good thread Todd! There's not a whole bunch of info available on Weissenbornes. It's great to see what kind of experimenting others are doing.[/QUOTE]

Daniel,

On the first one I used some rope purfling I had spare:



On Martha's I used bwbwb purfling I had spare. I set up a jig for my laminate trimmer and found a router bit that worked in each case. On the next one I'm doing (a double neck) I will either use the rope purfling or some birdsfoot purfling.

On the fretboard I actually took the opposite view and thought of it as a brace to help stiffen the hollow neck/soundhole area. I think it was around 8mm thick.

I haven't put pickups in any yet but if I do it will definitely be K&K Western Mini's.

_________________
Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

Todd,

Cool!!

I just measured the depth of the fingerboard and it is around 7mm. String height above the top at the bridge is 5/8" and it definitely sounds "sweet"

I've just today got the African mahogany that will be the double neck - plain and simple but has a nice tap tone:

_________________
Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

Actually, thinking about it, the fingerboard on a hollow neck might be an ideal candidate for cf dadoing or even composite cf construction as Rick has been telling us about.

_________________
Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010