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I have been looking for a pattern for a Panormo headstock and was wondering if anyone has one?

I have a bunch of pictures of it and can draw it out but would like to get the measurements or an accurate drawing of one so I can make a router template.

I have done a number of internet searches but can't seem to locate one.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Cheers,
Bob

Well it's a simple enough thing to draw one. The originals may not be what you require anyway. The rollers on original Panormo Guitars are long. The only way you'll get the original headstock to work is to buy the Rogers tuners (mighty expensive), otherwise you will have to alter the original design so that it works with tuners like the sloane.

Just read about it. Wish I'd have seen that bracing before building my little classical!

About 35 years ago I did a complete restoration on an ebony bodied Panormo from 1856. If you'd like pictures I'll see if I can find some. This was before affordable digital cameras were available so I'd have to scan anything I find. Let me know if you'd like to see it.

Yes I am capable of drawing them but I was hoping someone may have a drawing of it so I could get the proportions correct. I do know that the rollers on the original are long since it has such a narrow center on it but that would be the only thing that would really change.

If no one has any measured drawings I will end up drawing them from pictures I have.




I do have a number of pictures of some of his guitars but if you have the chance and the time I would be happy to have more shots. I don't think I recall seeing an ebony one so that would be quite interesting to see. Especially if you have shots of the bracing.

I have really taken a liking to some of these vintage parlors and the craftsmanship that went into them.

Cheers,
Bob

If you did manage to find a drawing, I believe Louis Panormo's guitars varied enough over his career that it may only represent his headstocks at a particular time, or even only representative of a particular instrument. Unless you're aiming for a replica of a specific example of his work, you may be just as well off drawing up your own "Panormo style" as you would be getting an exact drawing of any of his individual instruments.

That said, you could drop a note to James Westbrook ("Century That Shaped the Guitar", "Guitars Through the Ages") and see if he has any more detailed information available. I exchanged a number of emails with him some time ago on a different issue, and recall him as being quite helpful with what information he has gathered and stored.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

David,

No I didn't yet so I am guessing there really are not any around. It may be because of what you said about the variety in each guitar.

So I will just draw one up from the pictures I have. I was hoping to save a bit of work but I can whip it out in my cad program pretty easily. My main goal was to get the proportions correct but I think I can eyeball that.

Thanks for the heads up on James Westbrook, I would normally not contact someone like that but if you say he is a personable kind of guy I may just contact him.

Cheers,
Bob

Edinburgh instrument museum has a full scale plan of a Panormo.

Bob, as David points out, the Panormo headstocks varied over time and over various models. Study a few of them, get a few good full frontal shots, and then overlay the design onto the specifics of your neck/nut width and tuning machines.

I've carved a few of these heads and you need to think of it as sculpture. The shape is not difficult, but getting the proportions just right, is important. Try carving a few on some easy wood to get the feel for it, and to live with it for awhile, because how you respond to it after living with it does not always match the drawings.

What you'll also need to keep in mind is that the string ramps are long and deep. In order to not distract from the sculptural qualities, you should have a thick headstock overlay, one which allows you to carve the full depth of the ramp and not cut through it. Having a contrasting line where the woods change is not a good look on these heads.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

This page might be of some use:

http://www.iror.it/pubblicazioni/disegn ... anormo.htm

-Carey

Carey, Thanks for that link, That is pretty much what I was looking for. The pics I have are at slight angles which throws the proportions off a bit. That shows pretty much what I was looking for. The drawing part is a bit small but I can use it.

douglas ingram,

Thanks for the input, I do know that there are a number of different ways he did them and I know I have to adapt mine to give the style of Panormo. My problem was not being able to see the proportions very clear. You make a good point about the headstock veneer. I have pretty thick Rosewood on the front and Peruvian Walnut on the back and I have been thinking about how that is going to look.

You said:



Yes that was my whole point of this thread in trying to get the proportions correct.

Interesting you say I need to think of it as a sculpture... I am an artist and sculpture so I do think in those terms.
This is a bust I did of a family friend a few years ago. It was sculpted out of clay and cast in plaster.


Cheers,
Bob

Nicely done head, if a little spooky

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.