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Has anyone ever converted a slotted headstock to a peg headstock? I have a vintage guitar from a well-known luthier that was originally a peg headed guitar, but it was converted later on to a slotted headstock. The work is not the best, but functional.
What would you luthiers recommend? Would you just leave it alone? What would the restoration world do in this case? Does it make a difference who built the guitar?
RE: Slotted to Peg headstock?? (in reply to yourwhathurts69)
I did a job like this in 2018. Whether you should do it of not I’m not sure it’s up to you to discuss with someone who knows about restoration ethics and market value. I was asked to do it due to a balance problem.
I took the rosewood veneer off the headstock and filled the slot area with new cedar wood. Then I planed the whole thing down 1/8” or about 3.5 mm on all sides. Then I made some 3.5 mm veneer out of matching cedar and glued it over the headstock in a certain order. I glued veneer over the back surface of the headstock, then trimmed it carefully, then glued veneer over the sides where the plugged tuner barrel holes where, then glued on a new rosewood top veneer. After that I feathered out the ends of the veneer into the neck / headstock transition areas.
Wrapping the headstock with thin sheets of match cedar in that order made the seams of the new wood covering the slots and holes invisible as possible. It was barely perceptible. Then I French polished it and reset wood pegs.
There are probably other ways to do it, but really you should research or consider in the impact on authenticity if it’s a very historically important maker. Probably the only thing to consider is ( to me anyway) is keeping the headstock top design as original as possible. Don’t recut the shape of the headstock design, because unless you’re most likely going to have to replace the face veneer of rosewood and cut it to match the existing finial design of that maker.
RE: Slotted to Peg headstock?? (in reply to estebanana)
I did this once, long time ago much in the same way as Estebana: It turned out fine but I don´t think it is worth the trouble, though I prefer palillos
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RE: Slotted to Peg headstock?? (in reply to yourwhathurts69)
Since it was already converted, you are in the clear regarding converting it BACK to the original. As stated only the veneer will be noticed as different and I don’t think should affect value at all. Just tell a buyer (if you intend to sell not use it), that the veneer was changed to keep it simple. No harm done.
RE: Slotted to Peg headstock?? (in reply to yourwhathurts69)
Thanks for the replies everyone.
In general, I like the idea of restoring instruments to the original design. I saw an interview with a Spanish restorer and historian, and he states that in the restoration world, it's fundamental to not completely hide the fact that something is not original. In other words, someone should be able to distinguish what is the original work of the maker and what is part of the restoration. I think this mostly applies to instruments of historic value. In the case of restoring a slotted headstock to a peg headstock, wouldn't this mean plugging just the cut portions and trying to match the wood grain to look seamless? Does anyone have recommendations on who would be a good authority in the flamenco world? Perhaps Richard Brune?
RE: Slotted to Peg headstock?? (in reply to yourwhathurts69)
For me, it all boils down to common sense and integrity. The more significant an instrument is, the more consideration is needed. Only a very few historically important guitars get restored, in comparison to more modest instruments. Getting in to good habits is no bad thing, but there's a lot of BS gets shared too, mostly by those who don't have much experience. What is best for the guitar will win over in most cases, as the guitar comes first. Sometimes you don't get to work with an original finish It could have been refinished several times during it's lifetime, be it done well, or done poorly. Every job is unique.
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