Headstock Logo being Routed thru Headstock

[CMStewart]

I have been designing a headstock, and how I may do an inlay for it. And I had an idea to just rout the logo all the way thru the headstock, and then maybe outline it with abalone. But the logo will "engraved" all the way through the headstock piece.

I started looking to see if this had ever been done, and can't find any image of it being done. I guess one challenge is sealing the grain of the wood where you routed it out, since that may be affected by moisture, etc. It would also be challenging to get it really clean.

I'm just curious if anyone has ever thought of or seen this, and what your thoughts may be on the idea. Be honest if you think it's terrible. I'm trying to be creative, but am very much still in the learning phase.

[ssstewart]

the idea of it sounds cool, but i fear from an engineering point, that it would severely weaken the headstock and add stress on the routed areas, even if reinforced the reinforcement be it inlay or whatever, might actually worsen the stress points further (expansion and shrinkage naturally of the wood) considering the machine heads + their holes add enough stress to the headstock.

what about a 3D type holographic logo to appear to add depth without compromising the headstocks integrity? visually that would still look like its deep in the headstock, not all the way through perceptively but a compromise that may be viable...

just a thought. good luck whatever you decide.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Supercurio

I have been designing a headstock, and how I may do an inlay for it. And I had an idea to just rout the logo all the way thru the headstock, and then maybe outline it with abalone. But the logo will "engraved" all the way through the headstock piece.

I started looking to see if this had ever been done, and can't find any image of it being done. I guess one challenge is sealing the grain of the wood where you routed it out, since that may be affected by moisture, etc. It would also be challenging to get it really clean.

I'm just curious if anyone has ever thought of or seen this, and what your thoughts may be on the idea. Be honest if you think it's terrible. I'm trying to be creative, but am very much still in the learning phase.

Sounds like it will be a lot more difficult than you are anticipating. I do the majority of my inlays by cutting all the way through an overlay layer, re-inserting the inlay from the backside in a bed of epoxy.

If I wanted the look of the inlay going all the way through I'd do a reverse on the rear of the headstock to make it look like that.

[Fathand]

My thoughts it might not look so great in reverse viewed from the back, a matter of taste though.

[CMStewart]

Originally Posted by ssstewart

the idea of it sounds cool, but i fear from an engineering point, that it would severely weaken the headstock and add stress on the routed areas, even if reinforced the reinforcement be it inlay or whatever, might actually worsen the stress points further (expansion and shrinkage naturally of the wood) considering the machine heads + their holes add enough stress to the headstock.

what about a 3D type holographic logo to appear to add depth without compromising the headstocks integrity? visually that would still look like its deep in the headstock, not all the way through perceptively but a compromise that may be viable...

just a thought. good luck whatever you decide.

These were the exact thoughts I have been afraid of. Just to clarify, all it would be is an "S", similar to the way Breedlove used to do their "B" logo in the middle of the headstock years ago. The headstock I have sketched out is a little too small to fit the logo on the end, so I would be putting it in the middle.

All that to say, I can see it being a possible issue with weakening the headstock. At the same time, don't slotted headstocks do this already? I know it's a pretty different animal, but there is quite a bit of wood removed in that design.

[jaymarsch]

This might be of interest to you. A video of a 2013 Wingert EVC Steampunk guitar. She has a portal that goes all the way through the headstock. See the headstock discussion start at the 1:00 mark.



Best,
Jayne

[CMStewart]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

This might be of interest to you. A video of a 2013 Wingert EVC Steampunk guitar. She has a portal that goes all the way through the headstock. See the headstock discussion start at the 1:00 mark.



Best,
Jayne

Interesting... that's about the same spot I was thinking of routing out an inlay. Hers is much different with the design she was going for, but it's at least in the direction I was imagining. Thanks for sharing that, it helps me think through the idea more.