Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi All,
My daughter has taken an interest in my work, so I have her come in my shop and work a couple of hours each evening. We decided to repair a 1920s Lyon & Healy 00 that has been on a shelf for about 10 years. It needs pretty much everything, so a great project guitar. The slothead was broken at some point and glued up visibly. Over the years it must have gone through a lot of gear sets because there are a lot of screw holes. We are filling the holes with plugs and actually have a new Ebony plate for the headstock top.

I am thinking to strengthen the sides of the headstock shaving the sides by about .065" where it is cracked and plugged, and then laminating some matching mahogany of the same thickness on both sides and redrilling just the holes needed for the replacement gears. This will be invisible from the top because the new head plate will cover it. It may be a little visible from the underside but I am not worried about that. This is not a museum piece.

I am trying to decide if I should orient the grain on the sides to match the grain of the headstock, which is at an angle because it is a one piece neck with an angled headstock, or just run the grain parallel to the edge of the headstock. I am thinking the latter because it provides longer grain lines running the length of the headstock. I am guessing most people won't notice this and I thinj it will be marginally stronger. Anyone have thoughts on this?

Also, I don't want to backstrap because the model and serial number are stamped on the back of the headstock. I am using a slightly thicker head plate to add some strength.

Regards,
Geo

I would run it parallel to the head plate. I don’t think it will really be very noticeable as long as the new mahogany is the same color as the old wood. Just my opinion.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Yea, I would agree with Steve, It will be just barely visible as long as you get the color right. I think the only person that will see it will be you and your daughter.

Not much different than putting edge banding on shelving or a table top. Very few people see that the grain runs paralel to the edge of the wood and there is no end grain.

I think you will be just fine and happy with the results.

Cheers,
Bob

I did end up going parallel. I got a pretty good color and grain match with some Honduran Mahogany I found. When I put some finish on it I think it will be pretty hard to distinguish. It will pass the 5 foot test for sure. Thanks.