I have an irrational nagging worry concerning this guitar and if I don't do something about it, it'll bug me forever. When I made the pickup notch I separated the neck into 2 pieces inside the body. Technically it's not a thru-neck guitar anymore. I'm sure it's plenty strong as it is, in fact there's still more attachment the way it is than there would be with a bolt-on neck. Regardless of any of that sensibleness, my addled mind can not let it go and WILL NOT rest comfortably until I reinforce that neck, dangit! I know it's an unnecessary waste of time, but I can't NOT do it.
I'm going to drill 4 holes through the neck into the body, by way of the pickup notch, and glue dowels into the holes. That'll pin everything together pretty well. At least it'll satisfy me a little more.
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kHpAP39uhMw/TPXC6S46P-I/AAAAAAAACm8/7VtVZl98ZS0/s400/100_2175.jpg)
Two holes get drilled on each side. One angles to the left and one to the right.
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kHpAP39uhMw/TPXC6jlFpbI/AAAAAAAACnE/Mz3G26BH9_Q/s400/100_2174.jpg)
Then with the help of glue and a mallet, a dowel gets crammed in as deep as it'll go into each of the 4 holes.
![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kHpAP39uhMw/TPXC6xvjZAI/AAAAAAAACnM/uxQzGlG515U/s400/100_2176.jpg)
After the glue dries I cut the extra dowel away with an X-Acto knife...
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kHpAP39uhMw/TPXG09e6ZGI/AAAAAAAACnU/_FmYcqhCW2o/s400/100_2178.jpg)
...And trim it off flush.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kHpAP39uhMw/TPXG1J5tzuI/AAAAAAAACnc/DAiMaP9EltM/s400/100_2177.jpg)
While I had the hand drill plugged in I went ahead and drilled two holes for the shoulder strap buttons.
Here's something else which keeps bugging me. The walnut/maple lamination is nice looking in the body, but I hate the way it looks at the headstock. It disturbs the flow of the tapered headstock since the laminations are parallel. Also, look at the edge. Just look at it! ! You can see a big ugly, out of place, dark stripe of walnut breaking up the maple.
![](//1.bp.blogspot.com/_kHpAP39uhMw/TPXG1aPUaSI/AAAAAAAACnk/CMvaXbxWl8I/s400/100_2153.jpg)
I got some scraps of mahogany and maple veneer and I'll attempt to cover the face and edge of the headstock. I'm gonna try to do a 2-color pattern too. I've never veneered anything before and I hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew. We shall see. . . next time, on ELECTRIC GUITAR PROJECT!
![](//3.bp.blogspot.com/_kHpAP39uhMw/TPXG3hT1gWI/AAAAAAAACns/UP7scIoCZ4c/s400/100_2149.jpg)
This is a size comparison of a dachshund with a little 2 1/2 year old Chinese demolition catastrophe machine.
![](//4.bp.blogspot.com/_kHpAP39uhMw/TPXC5w6FlGI/AAAAAAAACms/TJ6WRUOYVmM/s400/100_2138.jpg)
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kHpAP39uhMw/TPXG1aPUaSI/AAAAAAAACnk/CMvaXbxWl8I/s400/100_2153.jpg)
I got some scraps of mahogany and maple veneer and I'll attempt to cover the face and edge of the headstock. I'm gonna try to do a 2-color pattern too. I've never veneered anything before and I hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew. We shall see. . . next time, on ELECTRIC GUITAR PROJECT!
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kHpAP39uhMw/TPXG3hT1gWI/AAAAAAAACns/UP7scIoCZ4c/s400/100_2149.jpg)
This is a size comparison of a dachshund with a little 2 1/2 year old Chinese demolition catastrophe machine.
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kHpAP39uhMw/TPXC5w6FlGI/AAAAAAAACms/TJ6WRUOYVmM/s400/100_2138.jpg)