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May I ask a question to which the answer should probably be painfully obvious?

First: the concepts I understand
1- when one designs a headstock there are 2 lines to be concerned with. The first is the path the strings will take (don’t want strings hitting posts)
2- the second is the distance from the edge of the headstock the hole is drilled (too far in and your buttons hit the thing... don’t ask how I know)

So when designing a headstock with a bit of a concave line on the edges, where does one know where to put the posts?
You can’t follow the curve or the middle one will be too far to the inside to allow the strong path to be clean to the top one.
At the same time you can’t tilt the line of posts in too far to middle or your tuner pegs will grab the headstock...

I consider a paddle to be strait forward.
A more extreme case may be the prs design

As a newish builder these are the kind of things I scratch my head on.
Maybe I’m waaaaay over thinking this.



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I think if it's a subtle curve, just do like you described and follow the line. Searching for curved headstock on google images it seems that is what is most common. Here is a good side view picture of Tom Bills headstock where you can see the string gap between the low E and A posts is wider than the string gap between A and D. So as long as the curve isn't extreme I would guess you would be OK. Of course consider the length of the button shaft too since you might run into trouble with stubby tuners?

https://theartoflutherie.com/5-keys-bin ... rettyPhoto

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Draft everything out on paper to scale. I like to use a fine incremented graph paper on a one inch scale in 10th inch.

Yep, draw it out a few times and keep several different drawings so you can look at them an decide what shape you like. There is more to it than just making everything fit, you want to be pleased with the shape and proportions. Remember to factor in the string width and the diameter of the tuner posts and wrapping when drawing it out. Also, draw out the shafts and buttons. Remember to check to see that you like the way the tuners fit on the back of the peghead too, especially if you use a volute DAMHIKT.

The next time I design an new peghead shape (someday, I need to design a slot head), I'm going to make a mock up in some scrap wood to mount tuners and strings to so I can make sure I am happy with the feel and clearances.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Expanding on JF's comments, find a drawing of the tuners, make right and left copies and cut out. Place on drawing and adjust or draw your peg head.

I found something that tweaked my attention a while ago: Not unusual for the E/A/B/E strings to be arrayed in a square and the E strings are the same distance from the nut as they are between each other and the E strings from the D and G strings. The D and G strings are arrayed a bit farther apart than those in the square.

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Peter Havriluk

If you are handy with graphic design software you can create an infinite number of headstock shapes and check the placement and resulting string paths for most any tuning machine available, all to exact 1:1 proportions.

Here is an example using Grover Sta-tites:

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George :-)

When designing a slot head, here are a few pointers:

1. Buy the tuners you want to use before you finalize your design. There could be aspects of the tuner construction that affect your design.

2. Make sure you have the wood between the outside of the headstock and the outside edge of the slots staying thick enough to accommodate the screws that screw down the tuners. You might have to snip off the ends of those screws anyway, just to make sure they don't poke through the slots.

3. Make sure you design an overall headstock thickness (headstock wood plus veneers) that works well with the tuners you bought.

I’ve done this to scale to come off of.



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Good questions.

I use to draw the head stock out with a drafting board, T-Square and such. Now I use the simple Microsoft Office program, (the one that is included with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). I use PowerPoint. I also use it for all my inlay and bridge designs. It is not a perfect program by any means but it is simple to use and does an adequate job.

No matter how you choice to draw it, it is much better making your choices on paper than it is on wood.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

You're right this isn't totally straightforward. I would only add to the above that if you are interested in a straight path of the strings through the nut to the post that you look at Trevor Gore's design. It ends up a bit assymetric so may not appeal to all but as a solution to getting a straight string pull it does work

Dave

Ever notice on Marvin guitars that the E string tuners sit a 1/16" further outboard than the other 4?

I'm with the draw it out crowd. Well worth the time!

This is indeed surprisingly tricky. I draw it out on paper, place the actual tuners on the drawing to see how much clearance they have, and fiddle with it until it looks about right.

I like the posts to be in a straight line, which means that the distance from the edge of the headstock will not necessarily be equal on all of them.

I also like the tuner arms to be perpendicular to the centerline of the headstock (no rotating individual tuners). 3-on-a-plate tuners may cause trouble with my standard headstock design, since their arms are perpendicular to the post line, rather than the centerline of the headstock. I've never actually tried them.

Distance from nut to first post is another thing to overthink Basically as long as the string doesn't have to make a sharp sideways bend, you should be good. I usually use 1 1/2" or 1 3/8". Sometimes I even do a distance progression thing where nut to first post is 1 1/2", first post to second post is 1 3/8", and second post to third post is 1 1/4". That would also screw up 3-on-a-plate tuners.

Fan frets make it even more fun

[quote="Haans"]Expanding on JF's comments, find a drawing of the tuners, make right and left copies and cut out. Place on drawing and adjust or draw your peg head./quote]

Perfect, THANKS

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

Google "guitar headstock", click on "images", find one or more that you like the look of, import to a photo program, then print out to actual size using the nut width as a guide. Once you have the full size version of one that is near what you want, you can alter it suit.

I made a copy of a Gibson mustache like this and it came out perfect.

Ed

As with virtually everything about guitars, there are lots of ways to do it and every one of them involves tradeoffs. One of the tradeoffs in headstock design involves the path of the strings between the tuning machines and the nut. If you're looking for "form," the traditional Martin pattern is popular and functions adequately. If you're leaning toward "function," a straight pull from the tuning machine to the saddle means that the wound strings don't "pop" over the edges of the nut slots as you're tuning. But you may not like the look - then again, you may. Lots of alternatives; very few rules. A few are shown here --

Don't forget that the break angle of the tuning head stock behind the nut is very important, too.