Gibson LP/335 etc. Headstock Template

Since Gibson's crackdown on illegal copies of Les Paul and other models, it's become a little difficult to find a template for a Les Paul style headstock. I managed to find this one doing the rounds. Just select it and print it at approximately 82mm width. It should fit the headstock of most kits.

Burley 335: Shaping the Headstock

Not much happening on the Burley 335 build at the moment (too many builds!), so I thought I'd get the headstock shaped in between working on the Stone Roses Tribute. Gibson headstock templates are a little thin on the ground compared to Fender, but I did manage to find a template for a Les Paul here: http://www.australianlespaulforums.com/download/Headstock.pdf. The template didn't fit my headstock perfectly - neither in width or tuner hole positions - so I had to do a little fudging to work out how it should go.

Using a center line I lined the top profile up with the sides of the headstock width-wise and ignored all other aspects of the template.

I then traced the template profile with my clutch pencil and roughed it out with my scroll saw. Taking the roughed out shape, I sanded the curves right down to the pencil line using my smallest diameter Josco Brumby Slap Wheel.

The tight curves at the centre of the shape always seem to pose a problem for me. I got these close with the scroll saw and still needed to use a tiny file to get them closer to acceptable. In the end they came out OK but I'm yet to find the best method to get them really perfect.