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I have a customer that wants a 000 with a slot head. I don't have a Martin slothead handy, nor does the local GC, to measure. Does anyone know the slot width?

Thanks, Chuck

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I make my slots 9/16" wide. The measurements I use came from a Collings 000, but I bet Martins are the same. They're 3 7/8" long. The outside part is 5/16". I start with a 1/2" drill bit, then use files, rasps and sandpaper on sticks to finish them.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
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The stew mac plan I have shows them to be 1/2" wide. For the 12 string I just finished, I made them 5/8".

Thanks Woody, Darrel, and Todd. Looks like if I stay around 9/16", he should be happy.

Chuck

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I don't know if they're still around, but luthiertools.com had a fantastic jig for a slot head. Self-centering and you could route the slots as well as drill for the tuners all in one pass. It is pricey, but if you intend on doing many slot-headed guitars, it takes away all the guess work. It's one beautiful piece of kit too!

If it's your first slot-head, there are differences from a paddle head that gave me troubles. First of all, I found the tunners, once on the guitar, were wider than my headstock/head-plate combo. I had to glue on an extra back-plate to accomodate for the width of the tuners. In hindsight, it looks rather killer, but I was a bit peeved that the standard 1/2 inch head stock was too thin.

Also, you can decrease the angle of the head-stock in relation to the fingerboard. The standard is 15 degrees, but this might cause you problems when sanding/gouging/swearing out the ramps to accomodate for the strings, expecially the 'E's' as their winding around the posts.

As for sanding out the ramps, I found nothing works as well as some 3M self-adhessive Gold sandpaper attached to a 1/2'' aluminum rod.

I hope my mistakes/oversights can serve as a warning to you and others!!! LOL

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