Quote:
Originally Posted by Lonzo
I made a jig to help rough out the angled V cut in the headstock but, I hand cut an 8 degree angle in the walls of that V. The neck cuts are all sawn. In the end it is all refined by hand until it slides together leaving a .020” gap and a mallet knocks it in tight. I would imaging when done right you wouldn’t need glue for this to hold. I really like the mechanical aspect of this joint.
Interesting ! Until now. All I saw were necks like this cut& carved from 1 piece..
This is cool.. but the only reasons to do this I can see is that one probably saves wood.. seeing it is so old and rare ? ..maybe it is the satisfaction and enjoyment you can do it... any other reasons ? Ease of Maintenance/repair ? Stability ? ..possibility to combine different woods ?
Thanks for sharing !
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Hi Lonzo, The main reason to use this type of joint is it makes a stronger neck.
It aligns the wood grain along the length of the headstock. The bird‘s mouth joint is stronger than an angled cut in solid wood.
This is particularly important to have on my Woodsman because it does not have center laminates or a backstrap
I feature traditional methods and designs with my Woodsman model. It is a very lightweight design and that has to include a lightweight neck to keep the overall balance right. I am using lightweight neck woods like Spanish Cedar and selected Mahogany and it is important to optimize the strength without adding weight. That is what the bird’s mouth joint does.
A bird’s mouth joint doesn’t show on a traditional style paddle headstock.
Yes, and I do enjoy challenging my skills doing this kind of work. It feeds the learning curve!
M