Re: Headplate use
Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 11:24 pm
I always consider it a strengthening element because it is a wood lamination with a different grain orientation.
In the 65 Guild I am repairing, I have replaced the original plastic "veneer" because it did not strengthen the head at all, so there was subsequent bending, bowing, and warping from the pull of the 12 strings, along with a split along the center joint. Clamping and gluing got some of the bending out, but I had to plane and sand the rest back to plumb. Therefore the ebony that replaces the plastic is much thicker than the plastic, and itself backed with additional laminations, in order to resist the pull of all 12 strings, and to make up for the wood that was removed.
In the 65 Guild I am repairing, I have replaced the original plastic "veneer" because it did not strengthen the head at all, so there was subsequent bending, bowing, and warping from the pull of the 12 strings, along with a split along the center joint. Clamping and gluing got some of the bending out, but I had to plane and sand the rest back to plumb. Therefore the ebony that replaces the plastic is much thicker than the plastic, and itself backed with additional laminations, in order to resist the pull of all 12 strings, and to make up for the wood that was removed.