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I'm making my first slotted headstock (steel string) and I'm trying to get from this:



To this:



So how do you guys go about squaring up the ends of the slots? I figured I'll just do it very carefully with small sanding blocks. But it turns out that very carefully also means very slowly, and the longer it takes to get it right the more chance I have of screwing it up.

So anyone have a clever solution? For some reason the rounded ends, to me at least, look unfinished. Also how do you lot put in the ramps without marking the sides of the slots?

Thanks,

Paul

I'm new here but i would think a sharp chisel would do the job better then small sanding blocks.

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Guitars, guitars and more guitars.

And files would be even faster! then chisels and finally your sanding block (or vise versa, depending on how well you sharpen your chisels and how comfortable you are using them)

Shane

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Canada

Sanding is nowhere near precise enough................forget the chisels too........... 

Use a "safe edge" file......... i.e. a flat file (fairly coarse cut) which is somewhat narrower than the width of the slot and has parallel sides which have been ground smooth (you can do this on your belt sander....watch out for the sparks..) and kept at 90 degrees to the flat cutting surfaces.

This will allow you to flatten and square up the slot ends without chewing up the sides of the slot. Simply rotate the file 90 degrees to smooth the side rails and create a nice crisp square corner.

Sandpaper yes but only to the degree that you need to smooth the file marks........which if you are careful should be quite minimal. 

I used a combination of chisels, files, and a sanding block to get this. Note that I hadn't polished the finish in the slots when I took this picture.  The cleaned up fairly nicely but were a pain in the neck to do.  I don't think I will do another like it! 

David,

That is an exquisite piece of work!

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com