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So, I'm planning out my first necks and was wondering how you get the back of the peghead flat. I'm using 3x4 solid hog, two neck stock

MIKE

It is my one use for the safe-t plane. In the past I have also used a hand plane and a scraper. A belt sander can also be used.

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I run the back of the headstock into my home made thickness sander and stop short of the nut. This gives a smooth, consistent plane and a gentle transition curve from headstock to neck. The absence of a feed belt on the thickness sander makes this possible. One of the easiest steps of the entire build.

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Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something

Same as Doug.............before starting that I used a router bit in the drill press.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

With a Biesemeyer style fence you can trim most of the back of the peghead to thickness by running it between the fence and blade, shifting the fence to the other side of the blade and doing it again. With a high blade it leaves a small "triangle" of material at the "chin" to be trimmed and shaped with chisels or files.
With the bridal joined pegheads the headpiece is a uniform thickness and separate from the neck shaft, so simply planed to thickness.

Bandsaw, rasp, chisel, plane,sanding block and a combination square to make sure everything stays straight and square.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

Several ways. Belt sander with a table that raises and easy to make. Wagner Safe T plane, or a thing like the luthier friend. Can also use hand tools that are good and sharp. I don't do a diamond volute, so fast and easy for me is the belt sander rig.

Sander with a simple aux table


May your sails be full & your glass never be empty!

Plunge router.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

I use a belt sander with a table like David. However, Casey's method I love that idea of. The belt sander gives a nice curve for the volute but I can also see some advantages to using a plug router. Maybe a combination. Looks link that would make a dart much easier.

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EddieLee

I like these ideas. I was hoping to figure out the diamond volute. Is that what Casey's method leads to?

If so, does use a chisel to finish?

Man, for this stuff, I'd like to hang around a pro for a while!

Mike

Btw, on my belt sander, I can turn the belt feed off, so there is no reason I could not do the same

Mike

Mike, I do use a chisel to carve the peak. I may change this jig a bit by adding a clamp to hold the top of the peg head after using a drum sander to thickness the first inch or so. As it is now I have to be very mindful that the peg head face stays in contact with the bed of the jig.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

I put an angle plate on a mill (a drill press table would suffice) and then chuck up a round piece of metal with sandpaper glued to it. Then run the headstock in. Essentially like a thickness sander turned on its side. Works well for me and I have the radius I want for the volute. The thickness sander method just left things too flat and I wanted a little bit of a hump here the volute was. I think I made my sanding "drum", if you will, a 2" diameter.

So many ways to do this as you can see from previous comments. I'll add one more.

I do it on the spindle sander, which is sort of like the belt sander method that David posted above, but turned up on it's side, and less scary I think. I cut it close on the band saw and make sure the reference edge and top of the headstock are square. Then I clamp up a squared 3/4" billet to the back of the spindles sander with a gap between the spindle - just enough to feed the headstock through and take off a few thousandths. I feed it through and check for square, then if it all looks good, I progressively move the billet slightly closer to the spindle and take light passes until I get the desired thickness. Works for me. Just be sure you feed the headstock in the correct side!

Hi Mike,
If you want to make a neck with a diamond volute you should try the modified bridle joint. The back of the headstock then takes care of itself. With modern power tools and a few simple jigs it is a relatively easy joint to make.